Betting and gaming stalwart William Hill PLC (LON:WMH) expects full-year operating profits to come in at the top end of its previous guidance after a strong international performance so far in the second half.
The group - which recently took around £4mln in US election bets - had previously told investors that operating profits for the year to December would be between £260mln and £280mln.
The bullish outlook comes after William Hill enjoyed double-digit wagering and net revenue growth in Australia, the US, Italy and Spain for the 17 weeks to 25 October.
“Our international businesses are all performing well,” said interim chief executive Philip Bowcock.
“In a tough market, the Australian business is benefiting from our in-house technology, which allows us to bring customers innovative new products more frequently than our competitors.”
William Hill also reversed the fortunes of its online division, returning it to growth with UK Sportsbook amounts wagered up 4%.
Opportunities to make around £30mln in savings have been identified for delivery early next year, the company added.
The money saved will be pumped straight back into the business to drive faster digital growth, benefiting future performance.
In a separate announcement on Monday morning, William Hill confirmed the appointment of three industry veterans to its board as non-executives.
Former Coral Interactive managing director John O’Reilly will join at the start of January, as will Tesco PLC’s (LON:TSCO) ex-chief customer office Robin Terrell.
Mark Broomer – former chief operating officer at William Hill’s rival Betfair – will join later on in April 2017.
Gareth Davis, Chairman of William Hill, commented: "These appointments significantly enhance the Board's digital, multi-channel and gambling industry experience.”
“John's, Robin's and Mark's collective expertise will strengthen the business as we implement our strategy of digital and international diversification.”