7th Dec 2006 07:05
Rank Group PLC07 December 2006 7 December 2006 Rank Group trading statement for 48 weeks to 26 November 2006& disposals of non-core businesses Summary For the 48 weeks to 26 November 2006, The Rank Group Plc ("Rank") has generatedmodest revenue growth from continuing businesses. In addition we have madesignificant progress in exiting Deluxe Media Services and we have agreed thesale of our US Holidays division. In separate statements issued this morning we have announced both an agreementto sell Hard Rock for $965m and the appointment of Peter Johnson as chairman ofRank from 1 March 2007. Gaming Revenue (vs prior year) Wk 1-26 Wk 27-48 YTDMecca Bingo (1)% (2)% (1)%Grosvenor Casinos 9% 4% 6% In Mecca Bingo we have generated underlying revenue growth but the business as awhole has been held back by the performance of our clubs in Scotland, which havebeen subject to a smoking ban since 26 March 2006. This year our clubs inEngland and Wales have grown revenue by 1% with a 2% rise in spend per headoff-setting a 1% decline in admissions. In Scotland while trading conditions remain challenging, we are encouraged by asustained improvement in market share. Since the introduction of the smokingban, year-on-year revenue has declined by 15%, with admissions down 6% and spendper head down 9% but our share of the Scottish market has grown from less than31% to more than 34%. We have enjoyed some success with electronic bingo, linkedinterval games and other technical innovations. However, there is more that wecan do to mitigate the full impact of the ban, including the development of newgames as permitted under the 2005 Gambling Act. In Grosvenor Casinos, revenue growth has slowed in the second-half of the year,due to the timing effect of the 'early freedoms' of the 2005 Gambling Act, whichwere introduced in October last year. For the year-to-date, revenue has grown by6% with admissions rising 4% and spend per head up by 2%. While the underlying performance of Grosvenor Casinos remains strong, a numberof our casinos have been impacted by an increase in competition. Despite growthin consumer demand, the potential for over-supply of casinos in certain localmarketplaces remains a concern. Top Rank Espana, our Spanish bingo clubs business, has undertaken a number ofchanges required to comply with the partial smoking ban in Spain. We havecontinued to experience a modest impact on revenue as a result of the ban. Blue Square has enjoyed strong trading in both its sportsbook and in its gamingoperations. Meccabingo.com, our on-line bingo product, which allies BlueSquare's interactive gaming expertise with the strength of the Mecca brand, hasperformed particularly well since its launch in September. Hard Rock In Hard Rock's company-operated cafes, like-for-like sales are ahead 6% for theyear to date, with a 7% increase in sales of food and beverage and a 5% rise inmerchandise. Total sales from company-operated cafes have grown by 8%. This morning we have announced an agreement to sell Hard Rock to Seminole HardRock Entertainment Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Seminole Tribe ofFlorida for a consideration of US$965 million (approximately £490 million). Board changes On 15 September 2006 we announced that Alun Cathcart would be standing down aschairman of The Rank Group, after nearly six years in the role. As announced ina separate statement issued this morning, we have appointed Peter Johnson to bethe new chairman of Rank. Peter will join the board as deputy chairman on 1January 2007 and he will succeed Alun as chairman on 1 March 2007. Deluxe Media and US Holidays We have made significant progress in exiting Deluxe Media Services ("DMS"), ourDVD replication and distribution business. We have completed the sale to OpticalDisc Service GmbH of all remaining DMS businesses in Europe for an aggregatecash consideration of EURO 1.3m (approximately £0.9m). We continue to seek a sale of DMS businesses in the USA but can confirm that wewill have exited all DMS operations by 30 June 2007. The total cost of exitingDMS is expected to be within the provision that we established in December 2005. We have agreed the sale of our US Holidays division, Resorts USA Inc to ResortsGroup Inc, a consortium led by the Resorts management team, for a cashconsideration of $32.5m (approximately £16.4m). The disposal is expected tocomplete on 15 December 2006. Share buy-back On 8 November 2006 we completed the £200m share buy-back programme that wecommenced in March this year. Analyst presentation and webcast There will be an analysts meeting at Goldman Sachs International, River Court,120 Fleet Street EC4A 2QQ, starting at 11.30am. Later today a copy of the presentation as well as webcast and dial-in recordingsof the meeting will be available from the Group's website (www.rank.com). Dial-in details are listed below: UK Access Number +44 (0)20 8609 0289 or 0800 358 2189 US Access Number 1 866 676 5865 Conference Reference 158789# Enquiries The Rank Group PlcDan Waugh, director of investor relations 01628 504053 M: CommunicationsNick Fox 020 7153 1540Lisa Gordon 020 7153 1548 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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