Ladbrokes: Everything’s fine if favourites stop winning

Ladbrokes Coral today avoided a profit warning but admitted that December sporting results had been “poor”, hitting returns.

The newly merged bookie suffered a run of victories by the favourites both in football and racing in December. It called the results a “mini-Armageddon”.

Chief executive Jim Mullen said: “Though the sporting gods did not look favourably on us, the business continued to perform well.”

In December, only six out of 58 Premier League matches finished in a bookie-friendly draw. Goals from strikers including Tottenham’s Harry Kane saw top teams triumph at the bookies’ expense.

Despite the results — and unlike William Hill — Ladbrokes Coral managed to avoid a profit warning, saying it will hit the target of between £275 million and £285 million for the year.

Of that, £101 million will come from Ladbrokes, the rest from Coral.

Mullen is trying to build Ladbrokes’ digital arm, a field to which it was a latecomer. In the fourth quarter, revenues were up 17% at Ladbrokes.com but they fell 4% in the shops.