Ladbroks Cheltenham Festival Woe

The racing returns for Ladbroks at the Cheltenham Festival did not meet the expectations of the previous year as Hilton outlined in his statement “group profits were 4% lower in the first four months of its financial year. A good run of results at events such as the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National boosted the retail arm last year. But weaker margins in horseracing this time round led to a 1% fall in gross win – the amount left behind by unsuccessful gamblers at its 2,000 shops”. Hilton did go on to say that “For betting and gaming, after a challenging start to the year, an expectation of improving margins should lead to good growth in the second half.”The in shop betting terminals provided a strong contribution to profits and Ladbroks will have over 7,000 terminals installed by the end of the year.Gross win at the firm’s eGaming division increased by 23%, although telephone betting gross win was 8% lower than last year.In its last financial year, Hilton reported a 41% hike in profits to £383.1 million despite adverse racing and football results at the end of the year. This included a 17% profits increase at the hotels arm.

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