William Hill still running.

William Hill @ 213.3p, +14.8p (+7.46%)


William Hill looks to have had a good run recently following various pieces of positive newsflow.


The Q1 management statement on the 22 April saw growth in revenue of 11% and profits of 21% despite a challenging consumer environment.
Behind the 11% growth in group revenue: the online business grew by 26% and the retail business by 8%.
The company also cautioned against the economic climate should consumer spending drop but, "Since the first quarter, Hill said it enjoyed a good Grand National after the favourite failed to win. While it was not its best Cheltenham, Hill revealed it banked £2m in profits from two races in one hour." (www.independent.co.uk: William Hill comes through strongly)


On top of this, the company also provided further detail of its plans to expand in the US with the acquisition of 2 land based sports-betting businesses: American Wagering, Inc. ;and the Club Cal Neva Satellite Race and Sportsbook Division, for an outlay of $39m.


A bit of a gamble (bad pun totally intended), William Hill sits in the Value and Income side of the Portfolio and to date has been a slow burner with a bit more volatility than anticipated but, at this point in time, the key numbers are:


- 24.7% capital gain
- 5.8% more in dividends 
- total investment gain to date 30.5%


In fact, the ex dividend date for the final dividend is coming up soon - 4 May. 
And, at 5.8p per share the final dividend is payable on the 9 June.
Quite a satisfactory performance thus far and with a forecast yield of 4.2% (at 213.3p) that in recent years has been more than twice covered by earnings there is potentially more to come.


Previous posts:
- William Hill - first past the post?