The leading betting and gaming company, 888 Holdings, which consists of world-famous brands William Hill, Mr Green, SI Sportsbook and 888, released its latest trading update. The company unveiled its unaudited financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2022, or Q3 2022.
888 Releases Third Quarter Results
The group’s total revenue in Q3, 2022 hit £449 million ($507 million). When compared to Q3, 2021, when the revenue hit £484 million ($546.5 million), a decrease of 7% is observed during the third quarter this year. A further breakdown provided by 888 reveals that William Hill retail operations for the period hit £124 million ($140 million) in revenue. This was the exact result as the one reported a year earlier, in Q3, 2021.
On the other hand, the company’s online businesses saw a decrease in revenue. 888’s revenue in Q3 2022 halted at £148 million ($167.1 million), down 5% when compared to Q3 2021 when revenue hit £156 million ($176.2 million). A bigger decrease was observed in William Hill’s UK online and international online revenue. The operator’s UK online operations reported £125 million ($141.1 million) in revenue for Q3 this year, down 14% when compared to Q3 in 2021. Similarly, William Hill’s international online revenue decreased by 12% to £52 million ($58.7 million) in Q3 this year. Overall, the group’s online operations reported £325 million ($367 million) in revenue, marking a 10% decrease year-over-year.
Online Revenue Impacted by the UK, Netherlands
Itai Pazner, 888’s CEO, outlined that the company completed a “transformational combination with William Hill.” He acknowledged that the Q3 results reaffirm the ongoing progress the company is making toward its strategic objectives. Panzer added that the transformational combination with William Hill complemented 888’s shift toward a “new target operating model, while delivering a series of “quick win” synergies, that will benefit our adjusted EBITDA margin for the second half of this year.”
“As we look forward, we remain focused primarily on successful integration, execution and de-leveraging in order to unlock the huge potential from our enlarged business.“
Itai Panzer, CEO of 888
According to 888, the 7% decline in revenue was fueled by the strict UK online player safety measures. Additionally, the company acknowledged that the closure of the Netherlands impacted its revenue in Q3 2022 as well. With that in mind, 888 pointed out that the Netherlands represented only 4% of the Q3 2021 revenue for 888 and 6% of the Q3 2021 revenue for William Hill international.
“Revenues during the third quarter continued the trends we have seen in recent quarters, with relatively resilient trading across our main international markets and in our retail estate, but continued pressure on our UK online revenues in light of the ongoing impact of the enhanced player safety measures,“
added Panzer
Although Panzer pointed out that the company is resilient when it comes to international markets and the retail sector, he acknowledged that the UK online revenues were impacted by the stricter player safety measures. The slower summer period with no major sports events impacted the online revenue as well. In conclusion, Panzer said that the company remains focused on strengthening its teams and leveraging innovative technologies which will boost 888’s market share and profitability in the future.