In its results for the half year ended June 30, 2011, Ladbrokes reported a 16.8 per cent drop in operating profits to £93.6m after the boost from last year's World Cup.
Excluding profits of £12m from the World Cup and an £8.1m VAT credit, underlying profit growth was 16.9 per cent.
Chief executive Richard Glynn commented: “In the face of challenging economic conditions it is pleasing to see good levels of underlying growth in both the UK retail and digital businesses. We are making good progress in executing our strategy, taking immediate and practical steps to improve the business and also working towards achieving our technology milestones.
"We have taken significant steps to becoming more competitive online. We continue to focus on operational execution, investment in technology and the reinvigoration of our brand. We are on track to deliver a differentiated, personalised and more consistent offer across all platforms and are confident that the actions we are taking will revitalise the business.”
Glynn remained tight-lipped on the takeover talks with Sportingbet.
