William Hill’s bet on AI takes bite out of profits
ShareS in the owner of William hill fell after the bookmaker warned plans to increase spending on artificial intelligence (aI) and marketing will hit profits.
With tighter regulations also taking their toll in the UK, gambling giant 888 expects its annual profit to come in towards the lower end of the £340m and £397m range pencilled in by analysts.
Shares sank 1.5pc, or 1.25p, to 79.75p, taking losses for the year to 17pc. The profit warning – its second since September – came as it said cost- cutting has freed up to £30m for aI and marketing.
Its business has been affected by changes to its marketing strategy and rules introduced in the UK such as caps on the amounts that can be staked on online slot machines. Group revenues fell 8pc to £1.7bn in 2023.
It was a bruising day for the London stock market after an unexpected rise in inflation.
The FTSE 100 fell 1.48pc, or 112.05 points, to 7446.29 and the FTSE 250 was down 1.71pc, or 328.95 points, to 18,864,37.
Wizz Air fell after the industry regulator forced it to pay out £1.2m in refunds to around 6,000 passengers over cancelled flights during the summer in 2022. It dropped 4pc, or 81.5p, to 1940.5p.
There was little respite for Ocado even after it this week reported record Christmas sales.
Shares fell another 6.2pc, or 38p, to 580p after hSBC said its joint business with Marks and Spencer will find it harder to improve profits by driving volumes compared to traditional grocers such as Tesco or Sainsbury’s.
The stock is now down more than 23pc this year. education publisher Pearson was also knocked back by a mixed trading update. Shares fell 2.1pc, or 20.8p, to 959.4p.
an upgrade from Goldman Sachs sent engineer IMI to the top of the blue-chip index.
The bank said IMI should benefit from a potential recovery in short-cycle industrial production. It gained 3.7pc, or 57p, to 1608p.
Mitchells and Butlers – up 3.6pc, or 9.2p, to 264p – reported strong trading for the festive season with record Christmas day sales.
Sales rose 7.7pc in the 15 weeks to January 13.
and now the harvester, Toby Carvery and all Bar One owner expects annual results to be at the top end of market forecasts.
Takeaway delivery firm Just Eat fell 4.4pc, or 50p, to 1093p following a slump in orders last year.
Antofagasta produced 191,500 tons of copper in the final three months of 2023 – up 10pc on the third quarter, following increased output at mines in Chile.
But shares slipped 1.8pc, or 28.5p, to 1593.5p. asset managers are taking a hit from negative investor sentiment and rising competition, according to the boss of Liontrust.
But there are still many opportunities, John Ions added, amid increased demand to save and invest for the future.
his comments came as net outflows hit £1.7bn in the third quarter to the end of December, more than the £1.6bn recorded in both the first and second quarters.
Liontrust shares fell 3.4pc, or 19.5p, to 559p.
Profits more than halved at Safestore, plunging 58.8pc to £207.8m for the 12 months to the end of October, after the storage provider earned less on its investment properties.
The shares retreated 8.4pc, or 71p, to 779p.
James Cropper had a day to forget after the supplier of paper for poppies made by the royal British Legion issued a thumping profit warning, as customers delayed projects due to rising costs. Shares crashed 35.6pc, or 285p, to 515p.