The owner of Mecca Bingo, The Rank Group, has surged back into the black with profit that outstripped previous expectations.
The London-listed group, which is headquartered in Maidenhead, saw its net gaming revenue grow by nine per cent year on year to £734.4m in the 12 months ending June 30, 2024, up from £671.4m in the year before.
This drove a pre-tax profit of £15.5m during the period, follow a pre-tax loss of £123.3m in the 12 months before.
In addition The Rank Group saw its like-for-like underlying operating profit for the year reach £46.5m, slightly surpassing analysts’ expectations and more than doubling last year’s £20.1m.
The board proposed a final dividend of 0.85p per share, marking the return of dividends to shareholders. The Rank Group said the decision reflected the board’s confidence in the group’s improving trading performance and financial stability.
John O’Reilly, chief executive of The Rank Group said: “This has been a year of strong financial, operational and strategic progress for Rank.
“We are continuing to rebuild profitability following the impact of lockdowns and the material inflationary pressures experienced in recent years.
“Trading continues to improve due to ongoing investment in our people, our products and the facilities within our venues businesses, and the continued development of the proprietary technology which is driving the growth of our digital business.
“With some important developments within our proprietary technology now in place, we are increasingly delivering a seamless and tailored cross-channel experience for our customers, leveraging our key area of competitive advantage.
“We are well-positioned to take advantage of the much needed land-based reforms which will help to further modernise our casino and bingo propositions to better meet the expectations of today’s customers and we look forward to the government confirming the timetable for the required secondary legislation.
“We have started the new financial year as we finished the previous one, with good momentum across all businesses.
“With inflation receding, disposable incomes improving, investment continuing to be made in the customer proposition and a strong pipeline of growth initiatives underway, we are confident in the future prospects of the group.
“It would not be possible to deliver this improved performance without our excellent colleagues who continue to excite, entertain and protect their customers, support their local communities and contribute fully to the progress we are continuing to make.”