Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8384N

Rank Group PLC

21 May 2015

 

21 May 2015

The Rank Group Plc

("Rank" or the "Group")

Interim Management Statement for the 20 and 46 weeks to 17 May 2015

(all comparisons are with the equivalent periods in 2014)

Rank today announces like-for-like revenue for the 20 weeks to 17 May 2015 has grown by 5%, with total revenue up 4%. For the 46-week period like-for-like revenue increased by 4%, with total revenue up 3%.

Group and brand revenue for the 20 and 46 weeks to 17 May 2015*
	Weeks 27 to 46		Weeks 1 to 46
	Like-for-like**	Total	Like-for-like**	Total
Grosvenor Casinos	7%	8%	6%	7%
Mecca	3%	1%	2%	0%
Total ***	5%	4%	4%	3%

*Figures not adjusted for free bets, promotions and customer bonuses.

**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:

"The Group's performance continued to improve in the 20-week period, with our digital channels performing particularly strongly driven by improvements in marketing, retail cross-over and product development.  The improvement in Mecca's digital revenue seen in the last 20 weeks is especially pleasing resulting in overall growth in the Mecca brand."

Grosvenor Casinos

	Weeks 27 to 46		Weeks 1 to 46
	Like-for-like	Total	Like-for-like	Total
Venues - Customer visits	(1)%	0%	0%	1%
Venues - Spend per visit	6%	6%	4%	4%
Venues revenue	5%	6%	4%	5%
Digital revenue	55%	55%	62%	62%
Total brand revenue	7%	8%	6%	7%

In the 20-week period like-for-like brand revenue grew by 7%; total revenue was up 8%.

Venues like-for-like revenue was up 5%, an improvement from H1, as London's win margin recovered in the 20-week period.  Like-for-like customer visits fell by 1%, broadly in line with market trends.  Spend per visit increased by 6% driven by the higher win margin and major player activity in London.

A strong performance from live casino and increases in both customers and spend per visit led to a 55% increase in digital revenues in the 20-week period.

Mecca

	Weeks 27 to 46		Weeks 1 to 46
	Like-for-like	Total	Like-for-like	Total
Venues - Customer visits	(4)%	(5)%	(4)%	(6)%
Venues - Spend per visit	4%	3%	3%	3%
Venues revenue	0%	(3)%	0%	(2)%
Digital revenue	18%	18%	11%	11%
Total brand revenue	3%	1%	2%	0%

Like-for-like revenue for Mecca increased by 3% in the 20-week period, total revenue was up 1%.

Venues like-for-like revenue was flat in the 20-week period, an improvement on the decline seen in H1, as the benefits from product investment offset the impact of a 4% fall in customer visits.  Total revenue fell by 3% following the closure of five clubs in the last 12 months. 

Digital has continued to improve its performance in the 20-week period, with revenue up 18% driven by higher customer retention, an improved mobile product offer and a successful TV campaign.

Board

On 5 May 2015, the Group announced that Christopher Bell will be joining the Rank board on 1 June 2015 as senior independent director.  Chris will also serve on Rank's audit committee.

Outlook

The Board is encouraged that all its businesses have continued to make 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 20 August 2015.

Ends

Conference Call

A conference call for investors and analysts will be held at 9.00am (London time) on Thursday, 21 May 2015.  Dial in information follows below:

UK (free call): 0800 694 0257

USA (free call): 18 66 966 9439

International: [phone]

Passcode: 45533555

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 - 58 casinos in Great Britain; two casinos in Belgium; online and mobile offering via grosvenorcasinos.com

·     Mecca - 91 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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