Ladbrokes Hurt by Cancelled Races
15th November, 2007
Ladbrokes today announced that its betting shops have missed managers’ forecasts, after gross winnings (the amount lost by gamblers,) dropped by 5% in the four months through October. The fall in profitability was blamed on favourites winning football matches more often during the period, according to an official statement. Cancelled horse races were also responsible, after the wettest UK summer on record caused the most race meetings to ever be cancelled during July (23).
The growth of Ladbrokes betting shops, its main profit generator, are also still slowing. Offering 2,600 outlets, a London casino, along with sports betting, poker and casino sites online, Ladbrokes is looking to tap into wider markets, with Italy being a possible target.
The fall in share price wiped out £260million of the value of the company. Chris Bell, Ladbrokes' chief executive officer, commented: "You just don't get race cancellations in July, we had more than since records began."
"There was a very unusual set of football results," Bell said. "All those household teams like Manchester United, Celtic and Chelsea have been winning. The customers had a fantastic run, but that's the betting business. You win some, you lose some."
