16th Oct 2014 07:03
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rank Group PLC Thursday said trading in the 15 weeks to October 12 was in line with management expectations as it posted a rise in like-for-like and total revenues in the period and said it is on track to meet full year forecasts.
The FTSE 250-listed casinos group said like-for-like revenue in the period was up 3% overall, with a 5% rise for its Grosvenor Casinos business and a 1% increase for its Mecca bingo arm.
Total sales in the period were up 2% over the period, with Grosvenor sales up 5% but Mecca sales flat.
Rank said overall trading in the period was in line with expectations and said it is confident on its prospects for the full year.
In the Grosvenor business, growth in London outpaced that of its provinces sites, up 5% in the capital compared to 2% in the provinces. Total venues spend per visit was pushed up 1% over the period, in spite of a slightly lower win margin for the casinos, as a result of the performance of its London sites.
Mecca trading in the period was more subdued, with like-for-like revenue for venues in line with the same period last year but with a rise in spend per visit offset by lower customer visits. The group closed two venues, in Burnt Oak and South Shields, in the period.
The company also announced a reshuffle in its management team, with Grosvenor Managing Director Phil Urban to leave and Mark Jones, currently Mecca's Managing Director, to replace him. The company said it is working on replacing Jones and said Henry Birch, Rank's Chief Executive, will act as interim Managing Director for Mecca.
"The group has had a good start to the financial year, and I am pleased with the improvements seen in our Grosvenor Casinos brand, particularly in its digital channel, and the actions to strengthen the performance of our Mecca brand are showing some positive signs," said Rank Group Chief Executive Henry Birch.
"We continue to work on our strategic priorities outlined in our 2014 preliminary results announcement and expect to provide a more detailed update at our forthcoming interims in January 2015," Birch added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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