Rank Group deals winning hand in 2015

21st May 2015 08:46

Gaming company Rank Group remained confident of meeting its annual expectations, as a higher number of visitors drove revenue up.In a statement released on Thursday, the FTSE 250 group said that in the 46 weeks to 17 May like-for-like revenue grew 4% year-on-year, while total revenue climbed 3%.In the 20 weeks to 17 May, like-for-like revenue rose 5% from the corresponding period in 2014, while total revenue grew 4%.Rank described the performance of its business as "encouraging", with growth reported across all of its divisions, adding that its financial position remained strong and trading was in line with expectations.However, there was slightly more negative news coming from the group's Mecca bingo clubs, which reported flat revenue for the 46 weeks and growth of 1% in the 20 weeks.Grosvenor Casinos fared better, with a higher number of visitors driving a 7% increase in revenue in the 11 months to 17 May and an 8% jump in the 20 week-period."The group's performance continued to improve in the 20-week period, with our digital channels performing particularly strongly driven by improvements in marketing, retail cross-over and product development," said group chief executive Henry Birch.Rank shares were down 1.34% to 203.90p at 09:13 on Thursday.