William Hill, the UK bookmaker, has reported a profit after tax of £146.5m for the year ended 27 December 2011 - a decrease of 6 per cent, compared with last year's £156m.

The group reported net revenue of £1.14bn in 2011, up 6 per cent on the previous year. Online net revenue grew by 28 per cent and retail by 1 per cent; the telephone division's net revenue, however, declined by 40 per cent.

Operating profit was in line with market expectations at £275.7m in 2011, while gross profit was £973.1m.

During the year, gaming net revenue increased by 24 per cent in total. Within gaming, all verticals grew net revenue, with Playtech Casino up 8 per cent, Vegas Games up 54 per cent, Bingo up 19 per cent and Poker 7 per cent higher. The company saw a 75 per cent growth in in-play betting.

Ralph Topping, CEO, said: "This is a very positive performance, particularly in a year without a significant international football tournament and with a circa-£9m increase in VAT payments as a result of the rate change.

"In the last year, we have built on the momentum and success of 2010 by further expanding our online offering through new mobile and text-betting channels and are continuing to invest in innovations to enhance the customer experience across all channels."

Including other operating income, pre-exceptional net operating expenses grew by 9 per cent from £647.6m in 2010 to £703.4m in 2011.

The contribution from the group's associate SIS was £2.4m in 2011, as against £3.3m in 2010. William Hill generated £241.7m net cash from operating activities in 2011, up from £223.9m in 2010.

The board has approved a final dividend of 6.7p per share, payable in June 2012.

"We believe there are more opportunities to grow in our core market in the UK and also for the business to expand internationally beyond our traditional roots as more governments open up their regulated gambling markets. We will, therefore, seek to invest selectively in taking our brand and our capabilities beyond the UK over the coming years," added Topping.

As of 27 December 2011, the group had total assets and liabilities of £1.8bn and £908.7m respectively.