Rank Group, owners of the storied Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo brands, has delivered an exceptional H1, featuring a 228 percent increase in after-tax profit, lower debt burden and payment of a handsome dividend.
And iGaming played a key role in the LSE-listed company’s fiscal surge, as its new proprietary Grosvenor and Mecca apps are expected to drive digital revenue at a compound annual growth rate of up to 12 percent.
Overall group revenue was up 13 percent, year-on-year, to £402 million for the half, ending December 2024 (US$499.88m); while there was a 50 percent increase in net profit to £33 million (US$41.03m).
Both the Grosvenor and Mecca verticals, benefitting from major and ongoing across-the-board upgrades, performed above expectations, Rank Group said in a financial statement released today.
Trajectory
Grosvenor revenues increased 15 percent to £215.3 million (US$267.69m), Mecca Bingo upped six percent to £66.3 million (US$82.41m) and Digital gained 14 percent, reaching £120.2 million (US$149.42m), during H1.
Group profit-after-tax was recorded at £28.9 million (US$35.93m)–a spectacular increase, year-on-year, of some 228 percent-–and overall net debt was reduced by 23 percent to £111.8 million (US$139 million).
“We are pleased to deliver another good set of results as we continue to take advantage of the growth opportunities available to us and maintain strong momentum across all of our businesses,” affirmed O’Reilly.
“Customers are responding positively to the investment we are making and to the experiences we are delivering both online and in our venues.”
Nevertheless, cautioned the Rank chief, “H2 will see inflationary employment cost headwinds and the negative financial impact of some of the measures in the [updated] Gambling Act.”
Although he added: “We are confident that our ability to both grow revenues and secure further cost efficiencies will help us to sustain our positive profit trajectory.”
