Today, the UK gambling company Rank Group published its half-year results for the six-month period which ended on December 31st, 2016.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company Henry Birch commented on the operator’s performance, saying that Rank Group had faced challenging trading environment for its retail casino and bingo division over the first half of the fiscal year. Still, Mr. Birch revealed that both units posted an improvement on year-on-year basis.
In addition, the boss of Rank Group explained that the digital division of the operator continued its strong growth over the period, so that it kept its significant potential for the second half of the fiscal year. Mr. Birch also revealed that the company was aimed at improving its operating profit over the second half of the year, and expressed his surety that that the Group would make great strategic progress in 2017. the company’s Chief Executive Officer said that Rank’s Board of Directors expected the operator’s full-year results to be in line with previous projections.
The company revealed that its Group like-for-like revenue increased by 2% from £372.9 million over the first half of 2015/2016 fiscal year to £378.6 million in the first six months of 2016/2017. An 11% increase in the revenue generated from the company’s Digital operations from £47.1 million to £52.4 million was also registered.
In its financial statement, Rank Group revealed that its Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before exceptional items amounted to £59.7 million over the first half of the year. This was a 5% drop from the £62.7 million reported a year earlier. There was also a decline in the Group operating profit before exceptional items. The 9% drop brought the Group operation profit from £40.4 million to £36.6 million in the first six months of 2016/2017.
The company’s adjusted profit before tax was down by 8%, reaching £34.5 million.
Divisions Performance in H1
More detailed information about the performance of the company’s divisions was also revealed. The Chief Executive Officer made a review of the separate units performance, saying that the Grosvenor Venues brand was the largest contributor to the Group’s total revenue and operating profit over the first six months of the 2016/2017 financial year.
The revenue generated by the Grosvenor Venues in the first six month of the year amounted to £202 million. The operating profit of the unit amounted to £26.1 million. The Mecca Venues brand, on the other hand, accounted for a revenue of £108 million and an operating profit of £13.3 million.
As revealed by CEO Birch, the UK Digital division of the operator generated a strong and stable growth over the period. The total revenue of UK Digital amounted to £52.4 million, while its operating profit was a little lower than the one a year ago and was estimated to £7.3 million.
The community-based gaming business of Rank Group, which is especially designed for the Spanish market – Enracha – also increased both in terms of revenue and operating profit. The unit’s revenue was £16.2, and its operating profit over the first six months of 2016/2017 amounted to £2.9 million.
- Author
Olivia Cole
