Rank Group posts strong results for Q3

The London-listed gambling group has reported a year-on-year rise in net gaming revenue driven by bingo and land-based casino.

UK.- LSE-listed Rank Group Plc has reported its Q3 results, with net gaming revenue (NGR) up 6 per cent year-on-year at £182m. Year-to-date NGR is up 8 per cent at £555m.

Grosvenor Casino NGR rose by 3 per cent year-on-year to £80m, driven by a 5 per cent rise in visitor numbers. Revenue from its Mecca venues was up by 12 per cent at £37m, driven by a 5 per cent increase in customer visits and a 7 per cent rise in spend per visit, with particularly strong trading over the Mother’s Day and Easter weekends. In Spain, Rank’s Enracha venues contributed £10m, an increase of 9 per cent.

Rank Digital NGR rose by 6 per cent to £55m. UK digital revenue was up 4 per cent and Spanish online revenue by 20 per cent. The company hailed the implementation of its new content management system for its Yo brands in Spain.

In the UK, Mecca’s online performance was strongest, up 21 per cent while Grosvenor’s growth was only 1 per cent due to a weaker margin and significant customer wins. Other UK digital brands saw NGR fall by 13 per cent amid planned reductions in marketing investment.

Rank’s outlook and Passion Gaming sale

The company says it has entered an agreement to sell its holding in the Indian rummy business Passion Gaming for a nominal consideration. The sale is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. Rank expects like-for-like operating profit for the year ending June 30 to be in line with expectations.

Group CEO John O’Reilly said: “We continue to make good progress across both our venues and online businesses, with Q3 trading very much in line with the Board’s expectations. Performance continues to improve, and we have the very important land-based reforms from the Government’s White Paper to look forward to, which we hope to start implementing in the coming months.”

Rank has urged the UK government to ensure the swift modernisation of land-based casinos. It has called on the government to implement plans for the sector amid rising costs. The group expects digital growth to be offset in the short term by the impact of new maximum online slot stakes and the planned statutory gaming levy in the UK.