Quarterly revenue remains flat for Mecca Bingo owner
Revenue remained flat in the third quarter for gambling company Rank as growth in its digital business helped offset weakness at its Mecca bingo halls.
The firm, which has Mecca Bingo's across the Black Country and in Telford as well as a Grosvenor Casino in Walsall, said for the three months ended March, total like-for-like revenue was flat on the year prior.
This was after digital revenue rose two per cent, offsetting a one per cent fall in revenue at its Mecca business. Revenue at its Grosvenor and international venues businesses both remained flat on the year before.
On the digital front, Rank said Grosvenor digital saw net gaming revenue up 15 per cent in the quarter. Similarly, Mecca digital grew net gaming revenue 10 per cent higher. YoBingo – which does not feature in like-for-like figures – also continues to perform "well".
The Mecca bingo business saw the number of visits to its venues fall in the quarter. This was partly offset, however, by a higher spend per visit. The third quarter performance was in line with the second quarter, but an improvement on the six per cent fall reported in the first quarter.
The flat revenue performance of Grosvenor venues in the quarter was an improvement on revenue falls reported earlier in the year. In the first quarter of financial 2019, Grosvenor venues saw revenue fall six per cent with three per cent declines reported in the second quarter on the year before.
Rank added the expected cost savings from its transformation programme remained "on track". Overall, it kept its full year expectation unchanged.
Rank will release its full year results on August 22.
In a separate announcement, Rank said former chief executive officer Ian Burke will stand down as chair and depart after the annual general meeting in October.
Mr Burke became executive chair in 2011 before switching to a non-executive chair role from 2014. Prior to this, he had served as CEO at FTSE 250-listed Rank since 2006.
"I have enjoyed my time at Rank immensely and am extremely proud of what we have achieved as a company," he said. "I have decided to step down as chairman in the knowledge that Rank has a strong management team and board which will take the business forward through its transformation programme."
The firm has begun the process to appoint a new chair with an announcement in due course.
Shares in Rank were 0.2 per cent lower at 159.63 pence on Wednesday.
