Bad day for the bookies: 888 shares slide after slashes outlook

Shares in William Hill owner 888 have plunged this morning after the firm slashed its targets for the year on the back of a sluggish period of trading over the summer.

In a trading statement, the gambling giant said it was expecting revenues for the year to be down around 10 per in the third quarter of the year to around £400m, with revenues for the full year now expected to come in lower by a “mid-single digit, before returning to growth in 2024”.

Earnings before deductible (EBITDA) margins were now expected to be at the 18-19 per cent range, lower than previously forecast.

Revenues in the past three months have been dented by a string of “customer friendly sports results”, 888 said, as well as slower than expected customer activity and tightening regulation in the UK.

The news sent 888’s shares tumbling 14 per cent.

The update comes as the firm prepares to welcome new chief Per Widerström from the middle of next month, as well as a new finance boss Sean Wilkins.

Lord Mendelsohn, executive chair of 888, said: “We are making significant strides to improve the quality and long-term sustainability of our revenues, but performance in Q3 has been below our expectations, and this means we now expect to end the year with EBITDA below our prior expectation.

“The hard work the team has undertaken so far this year has set very strong foundations for the future of the business and our synergy delivery is well on track.”

He added that the firm was “strongly focused on investing to deliver good levels of expected revenue growth in 2024” and it was progressing towards its target of more than £2bn of revenue in 2025.