Britain’s second-biggest bookmaker has reported an increase in third-quarter underlying operating profit as a sharp rise in winnings from gambling machines offset a fall in over-the-counter bets.

Ladbrokes made an operating profit of £49.7 million in the quarter to the end of September, up 8.5 per cent after stripping out the boost from the soccer World Cup to last year’s numbers.

It said net revenue was up 2.5 per cent and it was confident of further double- digit growth from machines in the remainder of the year.