The Rank Group, the operator of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor casinos, has returned to profitability in the last six months as a growing number of patrons returned to its establishments.
The company cited robust trading during the Christmas and New Year period as a contributing factor to its positive performance, PA Media reported.
Reporting a pre-tax profit of £10.4 million ($13 million) for the six months ending December 31, the firm rebounded from a £109.1 million ($136.64 million) loss during the same period the previous year.
“After what has been a very challenging few years for Rank due to a wide range of external macro factors, we are starting to build revenues and, with our strong operational leverage, we are improving our profitability, with the group delivering revenue and operating profit growth across all businesses,” Chief executive John O’Reilly said.
Despite a rise in wage costs, the company managed to offset the impact through reduced energy bills. Rank Group observed a 9% increase in like-for-like net gaming revenues, with both casinos and bingo halls experiencing heightened customer activity.
The company, well-known for its Grosvenor casino chain, expressed optimism about benefiting from forthcoming UK regulatory reforms. The government’s gambling white paper, launched last spring, introduces a series of changes to casino venues.
The anticipated reforms, expected to take effect this summer, could enable Rank Group to double the number of gaming machines in Grosvenor venues, introduce sports betting, and implement electronic payments at bingo halls and casinos. The group said it looks forward to capitalizing on these changes, maintaining a positive outlook for the latter half of the year.
“We are well positioned to optimise the opportunities afforded by the UK Government’s planned land-based regulatory reforms which will hopefully be implemented through the passing of secondary legislation in the summer of 2024. These reforms cannot come soon enough in enabling us to modernise our proposition to better meet our customers’ expectations,” O’Reilly said.
