William Hill under pressure to raise its game after profit warning

By Aastha Agnihotri

(Reuters) - A profit warning that sent shares in William Hill (WMH.L) tumbling on Friday increased pressure on the British bookmaker to crack the whip on efforts to remain a frontrunner in a consolidating gambling sector.

Tighter regulation and increasing gambling duties are squeezing William Hill and its rivals, but Britain's No.1 player at the start of the year has slipped down the pecking order after merger deals by Ladbrokes (LAD.L) and Betfair (BETF.L).

The tougher environment and advances in mobile technology are changing the face of the industry, with physical bookmakers' shops closing as companies focus on boosting online sales.

"Strategy for me is very clear," William Hill Chief Executive James Henderson said on an investor call after the company announced that it expects full-year operating profit to be near the lower end of analysts' expectations of 290.9 million pounds to 312.1 million pounds.

"If there are opportunities that represent themselves from an M&A point of view, whether it be a bolt-on, technology or a big opportunity, then we'll look at it."

The profit warning came after the company said that third-quarter performance had been hurt by 23 million pounds in additional gambling tax and a weaker than expected return on customers' bets.

Shares in the company fell 7 percent at one point to a 16-month low of 321.3 pence.

Net revenue was down 9 percent in the 13 weeks to Sept. 29 and operating profit slumped by 39 percent, William Hill said, noting that the corresponding period last year had benefited from strong betting on the month-long soccer World Cup tournament.

"Performance was weaker than our expectations across the board, impacted by weaker gross win margin than we had anticipated," Cenkos analyst Simon French wrote in a note.

Rival Ladbrokes reported a 57 percent slump in earnings before interest and tax on Thursday, but investors focused on the company's strategy of developing its multi-channel offering, sending its shares up 6 percent.

By 0949 GMT William Hill shares were down 6.2 percent at 324 pence.

(Editing by David Goodman)