William Hill has reported a 26 per cent rise in yearly profits today and said a string of favourable football and horse racing results gave it to a strong start in 2003.
Britain's second-biggest betting chain, which runs 1,600 betting shops and offers telephone and online gambling, said gross win - its main income measure - rose 20 per cent in the first nine weeks of 2003 due to favourable results on the racetrack and at football matches.
William Hill said its gross win suffered in the third quarter of 2002, with many favourite horses and high profile football teams winning, but results swung back later and into 2003.
"We saw fabulous growth in the first nine weeks of 2003, but we are a little cautious about this continuing . . . due to the volatile nature of results," said chief executive Mr David Harding.
He added that favourable results, the growing popularity of football and numbers betting, and the introduction of fixed-odd betting terminals in its shops had all helped trade in 2003.
The group, which was floated on the London stock market last June, reported 2002 profits before interest, tax and exceptional costs of £141.4 million sterling, in line with analysts forecasts.
William Hill shares rose 1.5 per cent to 221 pence today after outperforming the FTSE 100 and other leisure stocks by around 20 per cent since its flotation at a price of 225p.
The group said it made £13 million from last summer's football World Cup but estimated roughly two-thirds of this was substitution of betting on other sports.