Ladbrokes cashes in on good results despite fall in shop revenues

Over-the-counter bets staked by Ladbrokes customers fell by nearly 5 per cent over the summer as bad weather and the Olympic Games dented trade.

The bookie still grew UK retail revenues by 5.4 per cent over the three months to 30 September as it benefited from a favourable run of sporting results and continued strong growth in income from gaming machines.

Meanwhile, digital revenues were 6.1 per cent higher as the company starts to roll out a new sports betting website, helping operating profits remain broadly flat at £49.2 million compared with the same period a year ago.

In an update covering the third quarter of its financial year, Ladbrokes said there were 38 horseracing cancellations compared with two a year earlier, while the Olympics also proved a distraction to punters.

But the bookie’s gross win margin, which reflects the amount left by losing punters, was up to 16.9 per cent from 16 per cent in the same quarter of 2011.