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Unfavourable football and racing results mean disappointing profits for William Hill

Bookmaker William Hill has revealed its full year profits for 2016 have been hit by unfavourable football and racing results in December.

According to an announcement to the Stock Exchange this morning, the London-headquartered bookie saw gross win margins coming in below expectations over the Christmas period, meaning its profits were expected to be in the region of £260m.

Despite what William Hill termed ‘encouraging’ underlying trends in the sector, it means the firm’s profits will now be at the bottom end of its guided £260-280m range.

Striking a defiant note, Philip Bowcock, who is Interim Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Importantly, the improvements we saw in wagering in Online and Australia in the second half have continued in recent weeks.

“However, all four divisions saw customer-friendly results at the back end of the year, which translated into profits being c£20m below our prior expectations. With key underlying trends continuing to be positive, the recent run of sporting results have not changed our confidence in a better performance in 2017.”

The bookmaker had been the subject of a £3.4bn takeover bid from Rank Group and 888 after William Hill deemed the bid as ‘highly opportunistic’.

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