Rank Group foresees lower profits

The company said that it now expects profits around £77 million, compared with previous estimates of £85 million.

UK.- Rank Group warned on Thursday that profits will be lower than what was originally expected. Previous analyst estimations stood at £85 million, while full-year operating profits now reach £76 million to £78 million.

Thursday’s news sent Rank Group’s shares down 13 per cent to 185p in early trade. Revenues from Rank’s casinos open for more than one year also decreased 9 per cent in the 13 weeks to April 1st, compared with the same period in 2017. The company believes that the bad results were due to “a negative contribution from VIP players.”

Revenue at bingo halls also fell one per cent during the 13 weeks compared to the same period last year, mainly because of a 17 per cent increase in revenues from its websites. However, like-for-like revenues were down two per cent overall.

The company said that it continues to be cautious about the UK consumer outlook and that it expects its venues to further suffer beyond the end of the financial year in June.