Where do you think they will go to or should i sell now

07:12 25/02/2011
William Hill pre-tax profit rises 60% to 193.3m and raises final dividend 16%

Big article in the Sunday Times which promotes WMH as a major player in the on-line market of sports betting, from a very slow start, with some very talented algorithm writers based in Gibraltar. Rugby World Cup betting (& in-play betting) are forecast to be a good money spinner for WMH. Next divi date 26th Oct '11 (2.9p)

Nice graph & divi date approaching. Shame I didn't follow Sunday Times advice!!!

18th Oct '11
StockMarketWire.com
William Hill has initiated disciplinary action against a number of senior managers working in Tel Aviv.

Eyal Sanoff, Chief Marketing Officer of William Hill Online's marketing team in Tel Aviv, has resigned..

The company says that there has been disruption this week within the marketing business in Tel Aviv, and in the customer service and back office operations in Manila and Bulgaria.

Senior William Hill Online management have gone to Tel Aviv as a result of the problems, although it should be noted that the office in Tel Aviv will be closed from tomorrow through to early next week, as normal, through the Jewish holiday period.

It says that the vast majority of employees of the marketing team in Tel Aviv have good working relationships with the business and with colleagues across William Hill Online.

William Hill Online has denied media reports that it is thinking of relocating this operation away from Tel Aviv.

It says that this situation is not directly affecting the availability of any consumer facing websites at present within the Group.

Harry - off topic - I've just bought some Almonds :-)

Not too many skinny! Vitamin E overdose not good for you.
I tried Vit E for scar reduction after an operation, but can't really say if it worked or not.

Harry - interesting/depressing reading here. We are all doomed, but maybe won't go gaga as quickly. Its a bit of a tome but one paragraph seems to indicate that all natural sources are ok.

Health Risks from Excessive Vitamin E

Research has not found any adverse effects from consuming vitamin E in food [6]. However, high doses of alpha-tocopherol supplements can cause hemorrhage and interrupt blood coagulation in animals, and in vitro data suggest that high doses inhibit platelet aggregation. Two clinical trials have found an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in participants taking alpha-tocopherol; one trial included Finnish male smokers who consumed 50 mg/day for an average of 6 years [49] and the other trial involved a large group of male physicians in the United States who consumed 400 IU every other day for 8 years [24]. Because the majority of physicians in the latter study were also taking aspirin, this finding could indicate that vitamin E has a tendency to cause bleeding.

Pre-close trading update.

William Hill PLC (LSE: WMH) will announce its final results for the 52 weeks ended 27th December 2011 on Friday, 24th February 2012.

Ex-divi 2nd May, 6.7p

StockMarketWire.com
William Hill shareholders have approved a new pay deal for chief executive Ralph Topping - but by the narrowest of margins.

The company's remuneration report scraped through at the annual general meeting with 50.11% of shareholders voting in favour.

All other resolutions were passed.

Remuneration committee chairman Gareth Davis said: "Ralph Topping has been instrumental in revitalising the fortunes of William Hill since taking the chief executive job in difficult circumstances four years ago.

"Since then, he has built on the William Hill heritage to create the leading online gambling business in the UK and to drive strong cash flow from the retail estate.

"In the last year, William Hill has performed strongly against its financial and non-financial targets.

"In 2011, the share price rose by 18% and we increased our dividend by 16%, delivering a total shareholder return ahead of our peer group.

"The group has recently announced 12% revenue growth and 19% operating profit growth in the first quarter of 2012 and the share price has increased by a further 33%.

"The board believes this exceptional delivery should be reflected in Ralph Topping's remuneration and has effected the catch-up in his salary over the last couple of years.

"As the board manages the succession highlighted to shareholders last year, we also believe it is in shareholders' interests to ensure that Ralph remains with William Hill at a critical time in the group's evolution and last year put in place a one-off retention package that secures Ralph at least through the end of 2013.

"This has given the Group the stability and time needed to put in place effective succession planning at a senior level.

"Whilst we recognise that some shareholders are not supportive of this one-off agreement, we believe that there is widespread appreciation of the very significant contribution of Ralph Topping to the success of William Hill.

"This is evident from the high level of votes in favour of re-electing all the directors, including Ralph who received 99.8% support.

"We consulted with the majority of our major shareholders and most recognised the importance of what was being put in place for William Hill's future.

"Whilst many of our largest shareholders supported the remuneration report resolution, one of the most influential vote advisory bodies recommended a vote against.

"It appears that a large number of shareholders across our share register voted in line with this recommendation.

"We understand shareholder concerns but in this exceptional case believe it was the right thing for the group, the shareholders and the longer term future of the business that we retain Ralph Topping's services at this important time."

StockMarketWire.com
UK bookmaker William Hill said today that the Group and certain of its senior managers were unanimously granted non-restricted gaming licences by the Nevada Gaming Commission at a meeting held in Las Vegas on 21st June 2012.

A non-restricted licence is the highest tier of licence in Nevada.

Accordingly, completion of the previously announced impending acquisitions of American Wagering, Brandywine Bookmaking and the racing and sportsbook assets of Sierra Developments, trading as Cal Neva, is now expected to occur on 27th June 2012 for consideration of approximately $49m (£31m) in total. This amount includes $4m (£2.5m) for the settlement of debt and preference shares. In addition to this consideration, the Group advanced $6.4m (£4.1m) in arm's-length convertible loans to AWI and Brandywine prior to acquisition. Integration will take place during the summer.

The acquisitions will be funded in cash and are expected to be marginally earnings enhancing (before exceptional transaction and integration costs and the amortisation of intangible assets associated with these acquisitions) in 2013. The Group expects to incur $8m (£5.1m) of exceptional transaction and integration costs over 2011 and 2012 in respect of these acquisitions.

William Hill was given a boost by JP Morgan Cazenove upgrading the stock to "overweight" because of the growth opportunities for its online division.

"William Hill is extending its lead in UK online gambling and is now poised to accelerate its expansion into selected continental European markets, with growth from its highly-profitable UK online and land-based (retail) operations supporting the investment required," said Matthew Webb, an analyst at JP Morgan Cazenove.

The shares perked up 5.7 to 284.2p. Mr Webb also upgraded Ladbrokes , down 1.1 to 172¾p, to "neutral".

Deutsche Bank note:
"H1/12 EBITA increased 14% to £168m and was 5% ahead of consensus at £159 and 1% ahead of our £166m forecast. Normalised basic EPS increased 17% to 15p (DBE 14.9p & con’s 14.6p) with the 3% difference to EBITA growth driven by declining interest costs that fell 4%. The dividend was increased 17% versus our 10% forecast and in our view underpins the group increasingly strengthening balance sheet.
The key growth driver of H1/12 results was the group’s online division which increased EBITA by 23% to £69m versus consensus expectations of £63m and our top of the range £69m and this was despite spending 28% of net revenue on marketing or £55m. This growth is being driven by both sports, which increased revenue by 52% to £80m on the back of 33% increase in amounts wagered and 100 bp increases in the margin to 7.8% and casino, which increased revenue by 18% to £118m.
Retail also performed very robustly in H1/12 with 5% net revenue growth split 5%/5% for OTC and gaming machines. OTC amounts wagered fell 1%, however this was due to 9% fewer horse race fixtures following weatherrelated cancellations, normalizing this we estimate would give 0.5% growth. The OTC gross win margin was towards the top of the range at 17.8% (2011: 16.8%). Gaming machine net revenue continues to grow robustly and despite disruption from the roll out of new machines, GWPTPW increased 2% to £924.H1/12 Retail costs increased 4% and EBIT increased 6% to £110m. Forecast in our view offer upside
We think consensus forecasts (FY12 EBITA of £304m vs. DBE of £299m) will move up little over the coming weeks, but William Hill management tend to be conservative and given there are still just over 5 months of 2012 to go they will not let people get too carried away. But clearly forecast risk is to the upside in our view.
We think H1/12 results are supportive of the recent re-rating and as the group continues to expand and grow its online earnings as a proportion of overall earnings and as the market appreciates that Retail has growth potential, then we continue to see material share price upside for William Hill. BUY."

Interim Management Statement

Key financial highlights

· Group Operating profit1 was up 26% in the period, 17% higher in the year to date
· Online Operating profit1 was up 42% and Retail Operating profit1 was 8% higher in the period
· Group net revenue grew by 9% and was up 10% in the year to date
· Retail net revenue grew by 3% and was up 4% in the year to date
· Online net revenue grew by 18% and was 26% up in the year to date

Key operational highlights for the quarter

· Mobile was 27% of Sportsbook turnover and averaged £10.7m of weekly Sportsbook turnover in Q3
· Strong Retail over-the-counter (OTC) gross win margin, up by 1.9 percentage points
· William Hill US integration activities completed on schedule in September

The shares of bookmaker William Hill have gained more than 50% over the past year, and a 12p (3%) rise to 355p today helped push the price even further. The occasion was a third-quarter update that told of a 26% rise in operating profit, with a 43% rise in online profits.

Even after the price rise, forecasts still put the shares on an undemanding forward price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 12, with a dividend of around 3.3% expected for the full year.

Trading Statement

Full year key financial highlights

· Group net revenue grew by 12% (52 week basis +10%) and Operating profit1 was up 20% (52 week basis +18%)
· Online net revenue grew by 27% (52 week basis +24%)
· Retail net revenue grew by 6% (52 week basis +4%)

Q4 strategic highlights

· Recommended offer made for Sportingbet's Australian and Spanish licensed online businesses
· Initiated valuation process under call option to acquire Playtech's 29% stake in William Hill Online

Yummy ... you got any of these skinny ?

Bought a few myself around October time.

Dil - no I sold my last in September.

The odds of this happening -

A man has died after being hit by a large metal sign that fell from a William Hill shop.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was treated at the scene in Camden, north London, on Monday afternoon before being taken to hospital, where medical staff were unable to save him.

He has not yet been named.

"Every effort was made to resuscitate him at the scene and on the way to University College Hospital," a London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

The 30ft sign, which had covered the length of the betting shop, was seen on the pavement. Police erected a forensic tent to cover the scene and taped off the surrounding area.