There's been no sign of a rise in popularity for Rank's (RNK) casinos and bingo halls. Revenue from its Grosvenor Casinos fell 9 per cent during the 13 weeks to April and by 2 per cent at its Mecca venues. This decline in sales meant underlying revenue for the 40 weeks to the period-end was flat.
Management said poor weather exacerbated the lack of visitors to its venues, along with less contribution from its VIP members. During the first-half visitor numbers were down across all three of its geographical divisions, although cost-cutting saved operating profits.
The digital business was resilient, with a 17 per cent increase in revenue over the period and financial year-to-date. However, at the half-year stage, digital revenue accounted for a little over a fifth of the group total. Unsurprisingly, a more buoyant performance from this side of the business wasn’t enough to improve management’s confidence on the full year. Pre-tax profit is now expected to fall somewhere between £76m and £78m, a shortfall on last year’s £79.7m.
Rank is launching a digital single wallet later this year in the hope of encouraging the nearly 3m players at its casinos to give online gambling a go. But analysts struggled to find a bright spot for venues, with “little obvious catalyst” in the near future that could prompt a recovery. The recent departure of chief executive Henry Birch did little to inspire optimism.
