SHARES in the Stanley Leisure betting and casino group rose 21p to 297p on interim results confirming strong recovery in profitability despite losing £2.2 million in one day last October when jockey Frankie Dettori rode all seven winners at Ascot.
First half pre tax profits rose 21 per cent to £7.4 million, with betting profits up 43 per cent and casino profits up 12 per cent.
Interim dividend is up 19.9 per cent.
The "Dettori effect" on restraining growth was emphasised by chairman Mr Leonard Steinberg who forecast at the annual meeting in October that interim profits would exceed the record £9.5 million reached in 1994, around £2 million more than the eventual outcome.
Despite losing over £2 million on the Dettori winners, betting profits rose £1.2 million to just on £4 million on turnover up £44 million at £189 million.
Turnover in British betting shops was boosted by the introduction of betting on the numbers from the Irish Lottery draw, very much along the lines of betting on the Irish Lottery introduced into the group's 50 betting shops in Ireland two years ago.
Bets placed on the Irish Lottery now amount to nearly £5 million, accounting for nearly 2.5 per cent of betting turnover.
As well as bets on the Irish Lottery, Stanley Leisure is seeking to counter competition from the British National Lottery by introducing a daily numbers draw shown live on screens in betting shops.
The numbers draw is based on the successful scheme operated in Ireland.
