William Hill has seen half-year profits cut by almost half after the bookmaker was hammered by the Government crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
The betting giant saw adjusted pre-tax profits plunge 47% to £50.8 million for the six months to July 2019, after it was hit by the change in minimum stake, as well as heavy investment in the US.
The figures come weeks after the group announced plans to shutter 700 betting shops across the UK, putting 4,500 jobs at risk.
William Hill said it had to cut jobs in response to the Government's decision to slash the maximum stake on the controversial FOBTs from £100 to £2 in April, which has weakened the bookmakers' sales.
READ MORE: William Hill to close 700 shops across UK with 4,500 jobs at risk
Despite the policy change, the company saw revenues edge higher, moving up 1% to £811.7 million for the six-month period.
The company said it was buoyed by "strong" growth in the US, as it looks move away from its high dependence on the UK market.
Nevertheless, it said its profits were hit by heavy investment into expanding overseas, which also included the £245 million acquisition of Swedish bookmaker Mr Green earlier this year.
In the UK, William Hill saw online revenues slide by 1% as it was affected by "weaker sports results" over the period.
Chief executive Philip Bowcock said: "We are making good progress against the five-year strategy we outlined last year, delivering strong revenue growth in the US and other international markets and positioning William Hill well for future growth."
The company added that it made progress in collaborating with other major gambling firms over measures to "enhance safer gambling and address public concerns".
Security contractor G4S has said it plans to split off its cash-handling business and focus on its main security operations.
The outsourcing firm said its board has approved the move, to be carried out by the first half of 2020, following a review of the business.
READ MORE: Sterling forecast to fall further on Brexit fear
The announcement came as the group reported a 3.8% jump in revenues to £3.8 billion for the half-year to June 30.
Meanwhile, earnings slipped by 41% to £59 million after it was hampered by currency movements and £36 million in restructuring and separation costs.
Revenues for its main security business rose by 4.9% to £3.2 billion, while its cash arm saw sales rise 3.9% to £535 million for the period.
The company launched a review into the separation of its two divisions in December and said it had already received "unsolicited expressions of interest" from third parties for its cash business.
On The Beach has issued a profit warning after the package holiday firm was hit by the plummeting value of the pound amid the threat of a no-deal Brexit.
The company said the diving value of sterling against the euro since May has forced it to push up its holiday prices compared with competitors.
It said it does not hedge its exposure to currency changes, unlike larger travel industry rivals, but instead alters prices dependent on the value of the pound.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article