William Hill cites tax increases for £21m drop in profits

 William Hill CEO James Henderson has described the past six months as a period of ‘significant regulatory and taxation change for the industry’ as the bookmaker reported a 30 percent drop in profits after tax to £69.5 million ($107.4m).

Despite group net revenue marginally growing, even against 2014 World Cup comparatives, operating profit dropped 12 percent to £155.7m for the first half. Group net revenue was slightly ahead at £808.1m, compared with  £805.2m in 1H14, with good growth online and William Hill US, which were  offset by declines in retail and William Hill Australia.

 “Revenues are flat, and profits down 12%. However, we’ve had significant changes this year, not least there was the World Cup last year.  We closed 108 shops.  And of course the increase in MGD and Point of Consumption Tax,” said Henderson.

“In fact, the tax is worth £44m increase, in regards to Point of Consumption, which was £36m, and machine game duty, which was £8m. Now, with profits down £21m, that would suggest that the underlying metrics are quite strong.”

Read more: http://www.sbcnews.co.uk/retail/2015/8/7/william-hill-cites-tax-increa...

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