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

Positive start to the week so far, just needs volume to push on and get above 25 & 50DMA, lower indicators turning up.

First quarter operating profits at William Hill down 19%

StockMarketWire.com

WILLIAM HILL PLC Q1 2015 TRADING UPDATE

23 April 2015

William Hill PLC (LSE: WMH) (William Hill or the Group) announces a trading update for the 13 weeks from 31 December 2014 to 31 March 2015 (Q1) (unaudited). The reported comparator period is the 13 weeks ended 1 April 2014 (Q1 2014).

Key highlights:

Ÿ
Group net revenue up 1%. Operating profit1 down £16m (-19%) following additional £20m cost from Point of Consumption Tax (POCT) and increased rate of Machines Games Duty (MGD)
Ÿ
Sports betting revenues impacted by largest ever loss-making week in January
Ÿ
Continued strong growth in mobile gaming, up 48%, to 37% of gaming net revenue
Ÿ
William Hill brand launched in Australia: migration of Sportingbet customers successfully completed
Ÿ
William Hill US continues to deliver strong wagering growth
Ÿ
Gaming machine '£50 journey' implemented as planned by 2 April 2015
Q1 summary results on a statutory basis





Retail
Online
Australia
US
Group
Sports betting amounts wagered
-4%
+16%
-22%
+42%

Gross win margin
17.6%
7.0%
10.2%
6.8%

Gross win margin change
0.0 ppts
-0.1 ppts
+1.5 ppts
-1.9 ppts

Net revenue
-2%
+9%
-11%
+10%
+1%
- OTC / Sportsbook
-4%
+11%



- Machines / Gaming
+1%
+8%



Operating profit1
-0%
-38%
-39%
+1%
-19%

Machines Games Duty. How complicated is that piece of legislation? Governments just cant stop tinkering. I have noticed that participation on these computerised mugging machines has decreased. At least where I waste some of Saturday mornings.

Watching, see how it opens on Monday, may be worth a punt leading up to Interim this Friday 7th August. Looking at the chart attempting to breach 50DMA for second time. Lower indicators moving up. Buy order (on the spreads) @ 411p if triggered initial target 430p tight stop 401p.

Down at the open, resistance 406p. Buy order now 407p same initial target stop 397p.

Nice move up today, fingers crossed breaches resistance tomorrow and trade filled ahead of results friday.

So far so good chart wise. Now down to interim results tomorrow.
Heads better than expected, tails tin hat :0)

William Hill's H1 pretax profit falls 35%

StockMarketWire.com

Looking like Tin Hat.

William Hill acquires 29.4% of NeoGames

StockMarketWire.com

200DMA providing support for now.

Tough third quarter hits William Hill

StockMarketWire.com

William Hill has said that the operating profit for the year is expected to be at the bottom end of the current market consensus.

This follows a tough third quarter.

James Henderson, chief executive officer of William Hill, commented: "Q3 was always going to be a tough quarter given last year's World Cup and very strong gross win margin, allied to £23m of additional gambling duties this year.

"The quarter also featured weaker than expected sporting results impacting retail, the US and Australia, and the drag effect of the non-core market decline in online. "The growth in online's core markets - the UK, Italy and Spain - remains strong for both betting and gaming. Whilst good operating cost discipline has partially offset the weaker than expected results and non-core market impacts, the Board now expects full-year operating profit to be around the bottom of the analyst consensus range (£290.9m to £312.1m, company-compiled).

StockMarketWire.com
William Hill said in a trading update for the 13 and 52 weeks to Dec. 29 that it sees FY operating profit of GBP290m as in line with market views, with GBP87m of additional UK gambling duties.

FY net revenue at the group level was down 1% at GBP1.59bn, with contributions from Australia, Other markets and Retail down. Others generally improved their contributions.

CEO James Henderson commented:
"I am pleased that we have delivered results in line with the market's operating profit expectations for 2015.

"Online has seen some disruption around the implementation of Project Trafalgar but we are rapidly addressing that. I am optimistic the advantages that Trafalgar gives us will drive growth, particularly as we gain flexibility and increase our ability to differentiate.

"Retail has delivered another resilient performance, our US business continues to grow strongly and I am encouraged by the performance of the William Hill brand as the growth engine of the Australian business.

"Technology remains a key pillar of our strategy and the leadership changes announced today are about building a team who will deliver product innovations and continue to ensure technology is a major competitive advantage for William Hill.

"This will allow us to further build on our brand and scale, and be best placed to compete. I would like to thank Andy for his contribution in recent years and to wish him well for the future.

"Looking forward, 2016 is an exciting year for us. With EURO2016 ahead, we will capitalise on the investments we have made on Trafalgar, the SSBTs and the William Hill brand in Australia to bring customers a differentiated and more personalised William Hill experience.

StockMarketWire.com
Investec appears to be placing its bets on bookmaker William Hill (LON:WMH) after upgrading its recommendation to add from sell, seeing potential for a short-term rally.

The broker said: "We expect news of very strong current trading in the first 7 weeks of FY16 with the 26th February prelims. With full-year operating profit pre-announced (c.GBP290m) and no further updates to Project Trafalgar since the iOS transition, we see limited downside risk.

"Upside could come via a share buyback or special dividend given the strong balance sheet, lack of recent M&A and guided FY15 net debt/EBITDA of 1.3x."

Analysts have upped their target to 404 pence a share (from 346 pence), implying a forecast total return of 8.5 per cent.

StockMarketWire.com
William Hill confirms that over the weekend it received a highly preliminary approach from 888 and Rank regarding a potential combination of the three companies.

"The Consortium did not put forward a proposal or set out a position on price, timing, terms, form of consideration or transaction structure," William Hill said in a statement.

"The Board of William Hill would listen to and consider any proposal which might be forthcoming from the Consortium.

"However, it is not clear that a combination of William Hill with 888 and Rank will enhance William Hill's strategic positioning or deliver superior value to William Hill's strategy which is focused on increasing the Group's diversification by growing its digital and international businesses.

"As announced on Thursday, the Group will publish its half-year results for the 26 weeks to 28 June 2016 on Friday, 5 August.

"As a consequence of the announcement by the Consortium on 24 July 2016, William Hill is now considered to be in an "Offer Period" as defined by the Code. Accordingly, William Hill is required to suspend share buybacks."

FT.COM - A gaming consortium formed by Rank Group and 888 have submitted a takeover offer for their larger rival William Hill that potentially values the UK bookmaker at up to £3.6bn, reports Bryce Elder, Paul McClean and Arash Massoudi.

The Rank and 888 consortium is said to have submitted a formal offer for William Hill that values the shares at 364p apiece as well as setting out merger synergies that boost the value of the proposal to 408p a share, according to two people briefed on the plans. William Hill shares were trading at 324.9p in early trading on Tuesday, down 0.8 per cent.

A tie-up between 888, Rank and William Hill would create a company with revenues of £2.7bn and earnings of £500m, making it the third-largest online betting company by revenues.

Spokespersons for William Hill, 888 and Rank declined to comment.

Online bookie 888 confirmed last month that as part of a consortium with Rank Group, the owner of Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo, it was weighing up an offer for William Hill. The deal would mark a stark turn of events, after William Hill tried and failed to acquire 888 in a £700m deal last year.

The approach from 888 and Rank is driven by a desire to gain greater scale to help absorb the costs from tougher regulation and higher taxes. For William Hill, a merger with the two groups would give it much-needed access to 888’s online platforms and technological capabilities.

The merger would also boost its geographical diversity — 85 per cent of William Hill’s £1.5bn revenues are generated in the UK, while 888 is far less focused on the British market, with 54 per cent of its $462m revenues coming from outside the UK."

StockMarketWire.com
William Hill said it continues to believe that the bid proposal by 888 Holdings and The Rank Group is highly opportunistic and does not reflect the inherent value of the group.

Moreover, William Hill said the proposal presented significant risk for its shareholders as it involves a highly complicated three-way combination at a very low premium.

"There is substantial risk for William Hill shareholders in the achievement of the estimated future cost synergies, which are only expected to be achieved in full by the end of 2020," the company said.

"It (the proposal) would result in the combined group operating with substantially increased leverage of approximately £2.2 billion, carrying a much higher interest charge."

William Hill's chairman, Gareth Davis, said:
"The Board continues to see no merit in engaging on the basis of a proposal that substantially undervalues the Group.

"In addition, as we have said before this proposal is highly opportunistic, complex and poses significant risk for our shareholders."

William Hill has given 888 and Rank until 5pm on Aug. 21 to confirm a firm intention to make an offer, or that it does not.

Reuters - Casino and bingo hall operator Rank Group Plc (RNK.L) and online gambling company 888 Holdings Plc (888.L) ended efforts to take over rival British bookmaker William Hill Plc (WMH.L) days after a revised offer was rejected.

Rank and 888 had wanted to join up with William Hill to create Britain's largest multi-channel gambling operator by revenue and profit, with 92 percent of its business from regulated markets.

But the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday they had not been able to meaningfully engage with William Hill's board and did not intend making an offer.

Gambling faces higher taxes and tighter regulation, and a series of mergers has intensified competition as firms market themselves to younger sports fans betting via mobile apps.

Rank and 888 had estimated that the three-way deal would result in savings of 100 million pounds a year from lower third-party fees and reduced IT spending.

However, William Hill spurned the consortium's initial 3.16 billion-pound cash-and-shares proposal, saying it substantially undervalued the business. It rejected a revised takeover proposal on Monday, saying it continued to see no merit in engaging with the consortium.

Britain's biggest bookmaker at the start of 2015, William Hill is set to lose its leading market position in the gambling sector as rival Ladbrokes Plc (LAD.L) overtakes it in number of betting shops when it merges with Gala Coral later this year.

William Hill was quick to embrace Britons' changing gambling habits, such as placing bets online using smartphones and tablets, often "in play" while watching sport like soccer on TV, but its lead has vanished as its apps failed to retain punters.

The company sacked its chief executive in July and earlier this month reported a 16 percent fall in first-half operating profit.