According to Chairman Charles Scott, William Hill PLC has resolved to increase the interim dividend to shareholders by 11% and to return further value to them by share buybacks of between £200 million to £300 million over the next eighteen months. The William Hill market position has been substantially increased by the acquisition of Stanley Leisure’s retail bookmaking operations, and the company’s investment in technology continuing.

Turnover has increased over the first half of 2005 by 30% to £5,054.5 million (US$9.34 billion). The telephone active accounts remained flat and gross win fell because of unfavourable sporting results. The interactive gross win was up mostly due to the growth of poker, where income increased by 151%. The retail gross win was down but was offset by increased fixed odds betting at terminals in bookmakers - the FOBT machines that William Hill expects to have 7,500 operating by the end of the year. A fall in operating profit was limited by tight cost controls.

William Hill TV, launched at the end of 2004, now broadcasts Australian horseracing, Brazilian football, greyhound racing and Major League baseball along with virtual racing and a weekly poker show. A trial of William Hill TV at its bookmakers’ premises is planned for later this year. The Group remains confident that future prospects for William Hill are good, despite having been adversely affected by sporting results in the first 26 weeks of 2005. In the first nine weeks of trading in the second-half, growth was up in all three channels – retail, telephone and interactive – by 5.5%. (E-09.05.05)

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