GVC wins big as gamble on web betting pays out
THINK of gambling, and the image that comes to mind is probably casino high-rollers in dinner jackets or the High Street betting shop.
And, until a few years ago, many of the big betting firms would have agreed – underlining how long it took them to cotton on to the boom in online gaming.
But Ladbrokes Coral owner GVC has now seen the light, and its bet on digital gambling is paying off. Total internet revenues from brands such as Foxy Bingo and Party Poker jumped 17pc between January and June, helping offset a 10pc fall in the value of sales at High Street stores.
Revenue from fixed- odds betting terminals slumped 39pc after the Government slashed the maximum stake customers can play with from £100 to £2. Total revenue from all its businesses rose 5pc in the first half.
The shares weren’t quite so lucky and its stock closed down 1pc, or 6.2p, to 602.6p.
The closed down 0.6pc, or 41.74 points, at 7535.46. It was dragged down by a fall in shares for blue- chip precious metals miner Fresnillo, after the Mexicofocused firm lowered its production guidance for the year on the back of delays and lots of poorquality ore. Its shares dipped 2.8pc, or 26.2p, at 895p. Chemicals maker Johnson Matthey was the biggest faller, down 5.4pc, or 183p, at 3204p, after it lowered the profit outlook for its biggest unit, which makes pollution filters for cars and trucks.
The FTSE 250 fell 0.2pc, or 41.85 points, to 19,614.20. Mid-cap housebuilder Galliford
Try put the market at ease yesterday when it said it expects profits for the year to be in line with expectations – a reassuring note from a firm that issued a warning about profits in April and rejected a bid from Bovis Homes for one of its units soon after. Shares closed up 3.2pc, or 19.5p, at 630.5p. Rolex seller Watches Of Switzerland reported a near-trebling of its profit to £20.1m and 23pc rise in group revenue to £773.5m in the year to April 28. Shares rose 1pc, or 3p, to 293p, after it unleashed its maiden results less than two months since floating in London.
Emmerson rose 0.7pc, or 0.03p, to 3.85p, after Stagecoach cofounder Dame Ann Gloag increased her stake to 3pc.
The potash mining firm’s project in Morocco is not in production yet but the US-China trade spat has made it more attractive as countries are now trying to wean themselves off the need to buy agricultural products from the US, and are turning to places such as Brazil to make up the shortfall. Emmerson’s site is in a good spot for transatlantic trade.
It was a turbulent day for North Sea drilling firms Hurricane
Energy and Premier Oil . Hurricane’s stock dropped 6.9pc, or 3.5p, to 47p, after its biggest shareholder, Kerogen Capital, sold about a quarter of its stake.
And Premier Oil fell by 3.3pc, or 2.66p, to 78.3p, despite a robust trading update that said its operating costs had been less than expected during the first half – meaning profits will be higher.
Troubled fund manager Neil Woodford is still selling assets to raise cash for investors locked in his toxic Equity Income fund, ditching all his 17.4pc stake in activist investment fund Crystal
Amber, raising around £31m. Woodford suspended the fund last month after a run of poor performance pushed a flood of investors towards the exit. Crystal Amber shares fell 0.5pc, or 1p, to 196.5p.
And Eve Sleep rose for two days in a row ahead of a trading update. This will be a boost for Woodford, who still owns around a third of its shares. Eve Sleep said there was no news that would have driven the price rise. It closed up 14.3pc, or 1.1p, at 8.8p.