William Hill reports 19% profit rise

British bookmaker William Hill reported a 19 percent rise in first-quarter profits, which it attributed to marketing drives and a new mobile application which helped attract customers. Online revenues grew 33 percent in the period, with sports betting exceeding £50m of turnover in a single week for the first time.

"The strong performance across the business in the first quarter is pleasing... with positive underlying trends at this relatively early stage in the year, the board remains confident in its expectations for the full year," it said in a statement.

"Our mobile performance is now benefiting from our Sportsbook app being available in the Apple App Store, giving us access to thousands of new customers who have never bet with William Hill before."

Group revenue grew by 12 percent for the quarter.