IMS: 19 weeks to 8 May 2016

RNS Number : 9893X

Rank Group PLC

12 May 2016

 

News release                      

12 May 2016

The Rank Group Plc

("Rank" or the "Group")

Interim Management Statement for the 19 weeks to 8 May 2016

(all comparisons are with the equivalent periods in 2015)

Rank today announces like-for-like revenue for the 19 weeks to 8 May 2016 has grown by 3%, with total revenue up 2% and digital revenue up 6%.

Group and brand revenue for the 19 weeks to 8 May 2016*
	Like-for-like**	Total
Grosvenor Casinos	4%	3%
Mecca	1%	(1)%
Total ***	3%	2%

*Figures not adjusted for customer incentives.

**Like-for-like excludes the effects of clubs openings, closures and relocations.

***Includes contribution from Enracha. 

Henry Birch, chief executive of The Rank Group Plc, commented:

"I am pleased with the Group's performance during this 19-week period. We have seen continued like-for-like revenue growth across all of our brands and the performance in our Grosvenor digital business has been particularly encouraging."

"During the period we launched our new digital platform which was delivered both on time and on budget. This is an important development for the Group and we look forward to the benefits the increased functionality will bring."

Grosvenor Casinos

	19 weeks to 8 May 2016
	Like-for-like	Total
Venues - Customer visits	0%	(2)%
Venues - Spend per visit	2%	3%
Venues revenue	2%	1%
Digital revenue	35%	35%
Total brand revenue	4%	3%

In the 19-week period, like-for-like brand revenue grew by 4%; total revenue was up 3%.

Venues like-for-like revenue grew by 2%, principally driven by a solid London performance.  Customer visits were stable and spend per visit increased by 2%.

Grosvenor's digital channel continued to deliver strong growth in the 19-week period with revenues up 35% driven by on-going customer growth and improved functionality from the new digital platform.

Mecca

	19 weeks to 8 May 2016
	Like-for-like	Total
Venues - Customer visits	(1)%	(4)%
Venues - Spend per visit	3%	3%
Venues revenue	3%	0%
Digital revenue	(5)%	(5)%
Total brand revenue	1%	(1)%

Like-for-like revenue for Mecca increased by 1% in the 19-week period, total revenue was down 1% reflecting the closure of venues in 2015 as previously disclosed.

Venues like-for-like revenue continued to grow in the 19-week period, up 3%, driven by the recent improvements in product and service.  Total venues revenue was flat.  Like-for-like customer visits were down 1% in the period.

Disruption following the recent platform migration led to a 5% decrease in digital revenue in the 19-week period.  New content and functionality are now being rolled out, which management expects to have a positive impact on performance.

Board

On 1 March 2016 Steven Esom joined the Rank board as a non-executive director.  Steven will chair Rank's remuneration committee and serve on its audit and nominations committees.

Outlook

The Board is encouraged that all its brands have continued to make like-for-like progress and expects the Group's full year performance will be in line with management's expectations.  Rank is in a strong financial position, possesses market-leading brands with multi-channel distribution and has a clear strategy for sustained long-term growth.

Forthcoming announcements

Rank will announce its full year results on 18 August 2016.

Ends

Conference Call

A conference call for investors and analysts will be held at 9.00am (London time) on Thursday, 12 May 2016.  Dial in information follows below:

UK (free call): 0800 694 5707

USA (free call): 18 66 254 0808

International: [phone]

Passcode: 95005086

A replay of the conference call will be available from the Rank Group's website (www.rank.com).

Contacts:

Rank

Sarah Powell - investor relations       Tel: [phone]

Peel Hunt (corporate broker to Rank)

Dan Webster                                     Tel: [phone]

Media Enquiries:

FTI Consulting (PR adviser to Rank)

Edward Bridges                                             Tel: [phone]

Alex Beagley                                       Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors: 

1. About The Rank Group Plc 

The Rank Group Plc is a leading European gaming and betting business, based in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange (RNK.L). Its principal activities are the operation of casinos and bingo clubs with complementary digital gaming.

Rank's operations comprise:

·     Grosvenor Casinos - 56 casinos in Great Britain; two casinos in Belgium; online and mobile offering via grosvenorcasinos.com

·     Mecca - 87 bingo clubs in Great Britain; online and mobile offering via meccabingo.com

·     Enracha - 9 bingo clubs in Spain

2. Enracha

Enracha's contribution has been included within the Total Group numbers provided.  Due to Enracha's small contribution to the Group it has not been analysed out further.

For more information about The Rank Group, visit www.rank.com.

 

END

 

 

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