Trading statement               

The Rank Group Plc
LEI: 213800TXKD6XZWOFTE12

19 October 2023

The Rank Group Plc (LSE: RNK) (Rank or the Group) announces the following trading update for the quarter to 30 September 2023.

Group like-for-like Net Gaming Revenue ('NGR') for the first quarter ended 30 September 2023 ('Q1') grew 11% to £179.6m. On a channel basis, digital NGR was up 7% and venues like-for-like NGR was up 12%.

Grosvenor venues like-for-like NGR grew by 13%, driven by a 9% increase in visits and 4% increase in spend per visit. London NGR grew by 8%, with the rest of the UK growing NGR by 16%.  Average weekly NGR was £6.4m, up 10% on Q4 2022/23.

Mecca venues maintained the momentum built up in the second half of 2022/23 with like-for-like NGR growth of 11%, driven by a 4% increase in customer visits and a 7% increase in spend per visit.

Enracha venues, our Spanish bingo business, continued to deliver strong NGR growth, up 9%.

Digital NGR grew by 7% with growth across both the UK business, which was up 6%, and the Spanish operations, up 15%.   NGR for our two key UK digital brands, Grosvenor and Mecca, were up 14% and 9% respectively. 

Outlook

The trading environment continues to be challenging with continuing high inflation and interest rates and consumer discretionary expenditure remaining under pressure.  However, following a positive performance across our businesses in Q1, we are on track to deliver 2023/24 full year revenue and profit growth in line with expectations.

John O'Reilly, Chief Executive, said:  

"I am pleased to report that Rank has made a strong start to the year. After an encouraging second half of 2022/23, we have maintained the momentum through the first quarter of 2023/24 and have made good progress in driving revenue and profit growth across the Group. Going forwards, we remain focused on delivering the key growth initiatives within our digital business and preparing our UK venues for the critical modernising reforms in the Government's review of the gambling legislation.  These reforms, which are planned to be implemented by next summer, will help Grosvenor and Mecca to better meet the needs of our existing and prospective customers."

Forthcoming announcements

Rank will announce its interim results for the six months to 31 December 2023 on 1 February 2024.

Ends

Notes to editors:

1.     NGR represents Gross Gaming Revenue after customer incentives.

2.     Like-for-like excludes the effects of club closures, club reopenings and FX.

3.     All comparisons are with the same period in 2022/23.

4.     Q1 is for the period 1 July to 30 September.