Drawn scorelines after 90 minutes in the European and FA Cup finals and a positive Royal Ascot helped William Hill to an improved second quarter of 2005, sending the bookmaker’s shares surging 2 per cent today.

In an update ahead of its half-year results, William Hill said that "gross win" during the six months to June 28 was similar to last year, in which they had enjoyed a very profitable Euro 2004 football championships.

Earlier in the year, William Hill warned of "significantly poorer results" relating to domestic and international football. In January, the bookmaker warned of a potential £20 million hit should Chelsea win the treble.

The company was forced to slash the odds of the west London club wining the Premiership, the FA Cup and European Cup from 500-1 pre-season to 10-1 as Jose Mourinho’s team hit great form early in the year. William Hill's fears ended when Chelsea went out to Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup in March.

To complement its better run of luck, William Hill also reported a turnaround in cost growth, with the rate of increase in operating expenses falling to 4.4 per cent from 7.6 per cent in the 19 weeks to May 10.

It said the outcome for its full year depended on the degree to which sporting results continued to "normalise" in the coming months after a torrid Wimbledon.

Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill, said the bookmaker had paid out more than 100 four- or five-figure bets on Roger Federer winning the tournament.

"Wimbledon did not go too well for us," Mr Sharpe said. "The blackest day was the ladies’ quarter-final when all the favourites won in straight sets. We paid out £125,000 that day, which for tennis is a massive loss."

But Mr Sharpe added that payouts on Wimbledon were small by comparison to William Hill’s total turnover and "would not have a significant impact on profits".

Analysts viewed today’s trading update as positive, sending William Hill's shares 9.5p higher at 549.5p. The upbeat sentiment also sent rival Hilton Group, the owner of Ladbrokes, up 5p to 295.75p.

Today’s figures excluded the impact of the Stanley Leisure sites, which it bought for £504 million in a deal completed last month.

The additional sites will be rebranded under the William Hill banner and enable the company to overtake Ladbrokes as Britain’s biggest bookmaker, with 2,237 licensed betting offices.

Analysts are expecting full year pre-tax profits to come in around £220 million, 7 per cent higher than last year.

Results for the 26 weeks to June 28 are set to be announced on September 5.

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