The Rank Group is aiming to halt a slide in performance in the second half of the financial year by implementing “cost reduction and revenue enhancement actions.”
The UK-based gaming group revealed that performance in the six months to December 31 was characterised by a 26 per cent like-for-like fall in operating profit at its Grosvenor Casinos venues and a 38 per cent fall in operating profit in its Mecca Bingo division. This was in line with expectations, it said.
Adjusted profit before tax was down 23 per cent to £27.7m, which was attributed to its trading performance, higher costs and interest charges.
During this period, the company completed the integration of the 19 casinos it acquired from Gala in May and invested £11.9m in new product and casino refurbishments. This new portfolio of casinos is trading well, it said.
Chief executive Ian Burke (pictured) described the first half of the current financial year as “challenging.”
“Our London Park Tower casino has underperformed against a strong comparative period; this casino’s performance has been the principal cause of a 2.9 per cent point fall in London win margin and a six per cent fall in London handle in the period,” he said. “The very challenging bingo market has contributed to a decline in the Mecca brand’s performance as customer visits fell by eight per cent in the period.”
The integration of the newly acquired casinos has been successful, he noted.
“We are continuing to implement actions…to drive both revenue and operating profit that will bring benefits in the second half and future years. Management anticipates operating profit in the second half, excluding the impact of the acquired casinos, will be broadly in line with the comparable period last year.”
