William Hill plc (WMH)

William Hill plc (WMH) - Wyn Ellis at Numis Securities

Shares rose 6% amid upgrades to City profit forecasts, but analysts warned this year will have got off to a difficult start due to the icy weather, which has caused high levels of horse racing and football cancellations William Hill made no mention of current trading in its brief update yesterday Wyn Ellis, an analyst at Numis Securities, increased his projection for 2010 earnings by 4% to £280m However, he said: "We believe that the outlook for land based gaming remains difficult and uncertain — cyclical recovery is not a given and rises in unemployment could weigh heavily "There are also potential tax risks and the seemingly inexorable rise in machine income cannot continue indefinitely" 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Wyn Ellis at Numis Securities

But analysts warned this year will have got off to a difficult start due to the icy weather, which has caused high levels of horse racing and football cancellations William Hill made no mention of current trading in its brief update yesterday Wyn Ellis, an analyst at Numis Securities, increased his projection for 2010 earnings by 4% to £280m However, he added: "We believe that the outlook for land based gaming remains difficult and uncertain – cyclical recovery is not a given and rises in unemployment could weigh heavily "There are also potential tax risks and the seemingly inexorable rise in machine income cannot continue indefinitely "We also perceive long term structural challenges, as horse racing continues to decline and the challenge of the internet mounts" 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Paul Leyland at Collins Stewart

Its preliminary announcement of the 2009 results will be made late next month William Hill Online (WHO) earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the full year was approximately 35% higher due to the William Hill Online Playtech deal , which included the launch of the new Playtech casino suite into William Hill in October, although down 1% on a like for like basis Analyst Paul Leyland of brokerage Collins Stewart said: "Online revenue growthcan be implied from the 1% pro forma EBIT contribution , in budget despite a very difficult first three quarters in terms of trading as well as marketing and infrastructure investment We are anticipating a significant turnaround in WHO performance, led by normalising margins as well as significantly improved product and infrastructure (revenue +40%)" James Hollins, an analyst  at brokerage Daniel Stewart said: "We expect the online gaming business to have continued strongly into 2010, with the completed integration of the Playtech casino suite during Q4 2009 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Killian Murphy at Goodbody Stockbrokers

"However, against this is the argument Government may be reluctant to impose a tax on a growing global online business that has recently announced a further 250 jobs for the economy." . Goodbody analyst Killian Murphy said that such an online tax would potentially place the likes of Paddy Power and Boyle Sports at a competitive disadvantage to the likes of William Hill and Ladbrokes, as they would be the only ones liable to tax because they're the only Irish betting chains with online gaming facilities. Seemingly, both of the Irish companies aren't expecting an online tax any time soon – both of their online businesses are headquartered in the Isle of Man, which would make the issue of taxing them more difficult – but a review body is understood to be examining the possibility of a tax being levied on the non retail side of the betting industry. In September, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said it was his intention to widen the tax base to which betting duty would be applied, adding that his officials were looking "at the scope to overcome legal and operational difficulties in this area and will continue to do so on an ongoing basis."   This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner , 2009 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Wyn Ellis at Numis Securities

"In the wake of the recent disappointing trading update and rights issue from Ladbrokes we find the William Hill Q3 update to be encouraging," said Numis analyst Wyn Ellis. William Hill said football margins had returned to being in line with usual trends in the latter part of September and October. Horseracing results were unfavourable in July and August but some recovery was seen in September. Group revenue declined by 3 percent in the third quarter but was up 3 percent in the year to date. 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Killian Murphy at Goodbody Stockbrokers

Shares in the group were up 2.9 percent at 19.6 euros by 0750 GMT . British rival Ladbrokes cut its interim dividend earlier this month while Britain s biggest bookmaker William Hill warned full year profits would be below expectations . STRONG PLAYER In an interview with Reuters Finance Director Jack Massey said it was reasonable to speculate that the dividend would rise by the same for the full year adding that the group would return to profit growth in 2010 . These results show that Paddy Power is one of the strongest players in the sector Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst Killian Murphy wrote in a note adding the numbers gave scope for the brokerage to raise its 2010 forecasts . Operating profit fell by 26 pct to 33.5 million euros for the period to slightly more than the average 31.4 million forecast by two analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on the back of unwelcome results on the field of play . 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Tim Rothery at Goldman Sachs

Tim Rothery, analyst at Goldman Sachs, said: "As balance sheet concerns have been addressed through the rights issue, and pension risk is fully captured in our valuation (we assume a £400m increase in the deficit), we believe the current share price offers an attractive entry point into a high quality automotive and aerospace supplier." However, William Hill was heavily sold off after Playtech, a joint venture partner in William Hill Online, gave warning that full year trading will be below market forecasts. 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Simon Champion at Deutsche Bank

It also cuts its 2009 adjusted EBITDA forecast to 96 million euros from 124 million and its 2010 expectation to 111 million euros from 147 million. Deutsche Bank analyst Simon Champion says that integration issues related to William Hill Online, which Playtech took a 29 percent stake in following a deal last October, were the main reason for the performance being below expectations. 'Integration has been slower than expected across the business. We have also adjusted our expectations for the group's core business downwards to reflect a difficult underlying market in poker, which we believe is being seen across the industry,' he said. 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Simon Champion at Deutsche Bank

It also cuts its 2009 adjusted EBITDA forecast to 96 million euros from 124 million and its 2010 expectation to 111 million euros from 147 million. Deutsche Bank analyst Simon Champion says that integration issues related to William Hill Online, which Playtech took a 29 percent stake in following a deal last October, were the main reason for the performance being below expectations. 'Integration has been slower than expected across the business. We have also adjusted our expectations for the group's core business downwards to reflect a difficult underlying market in poker, which we believe is being seen across the industry,' he said. 

William Hill plc (WMH) - Simon Champion at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank analyst Simon Champion says that integration issues related to William Hill Online, which Playtech took a 29 percent stake in following a deal last October, were the main reason for the performance being below expectations . 'Integration has been slower than expected across the business .We have also adjusted our expectations for the group's core business downwards to reflect a difficult underlying market in poker, which we believe is being seen across the industry,' he said . William Hill drops 4 percent, with PartyGaming losing 2 percent, Ladbrokes 1 percent, and 888 1 percent . For more please click on Reuters messaging rm://matthew.scuffham.reuters.com@reuters.net