Bookmaker William Hill said a big loss-making week, where football results came in overwhelmingly in favour of its customers, weighed on the company’s performance in the first quarter.
The company, which has about 2,400 betting shops in the UK and online operations in countries including the US, Australia and Spain, said revenue for the period was behind its expectations.
James Henderson, the chief executive, said William Hill was confident about prospects for the full-year despite the early setback.
“Whilst inclusion of the loss-making week leaves us behind internal expectations for the period as a whole, the board’s view is that this volatility in sporting results is now a normal part of the group’s trading, given the increased proportion of accumulator football betting in online as well as retail. Therefore, the board remains confident in its expectations for 2015.”
Investors appeared unconvinced, with shares down 5.7% at 369p.
Earlier this month, William Hill’s potential £720m takeover of 888 collapsed after a key shareholder in the online poker and gaming company failed to back the deal.
In the year to 30 December 2014, pre-tax profit at William Hill fell 9% to £234m, while revenue increased by 8% to £1.6bn.
The betting chain said it enjoyed a “record-breaking World Cup performance” on the back of the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
Henderson said the company was competing effectively in its online international business as well as in its chain of UK shops.
“Retail remains resilient and, with the largest number of betting shops in the UK and as the leading UK digital operator, we are moving closer to a ‘one customer’ proposition to deliver a seamless experience for our customers across our channels.
“We are committed to working with the industry and the regulator to promote responsible gambling. We have put better tools in the hands of customers, increased awareness of the importance of responsible gambling and helped establish mechanisms for independent scrutiny of the industry.”
The board recommended a full-year dividend of 12.2p a share, up 5%.
