Rank digital revenues boosted by Grosvenor growth
Operator posts 6% rise during 19-week period despite slight hit to Mecca performance following platform migration
Rank Group this morning posted a 6% rise in revenues for the 19-week period to 8 May after strong growth from its Grosvenor Casinos brand more than compensated for a slight dip in its Mecca product.
Grosvenor recorded a 35% increase in like-for-like revenues during the period, a performance it attributed to on-going customer growth and improved functionality delivered by its recent platform switch from OpenBet to Bede Gaming.
However, while Grosvenor felt an immediate benefit from the migration, the firm said Mecca’s 5% revenue drop came as a result of “disruption” caused by the switch, which EGR understands was related to increased complexity with third-party integrations.
“We have seen continued like-for-like revenue growth across all of our brands and the performance in our Grosvenor digital business has been particularly encouraging,” Henry Birch, Rank Group CEO, said.
“During the period we launched our new digital platform which was delivered both on time and on budget. This is an important development for the Group and we look forward to the benefits the increased functionality will bring,” he added.
Peel Hunt analyst Ali Naqvi described the Grosvenor growth as “particularly impressive” given the comparable period last year generated growth of 55%, while the full impact of the Bede platform switch was unlikely to be felt until Q1 2017.
Group revenues, which includes its bricks and mortar bingo halls and casinos, were up 3% on a like-for-like basis. The firm’s share price was up just over 10p to 247.50p after early morning trading.
Earlier this year Rank posted H1 revenue growth of 14% and will be publishing its full-year results on 18 August.
The firm is currently in the process of integrating Kambi’s sportsbook platform which could yet launch in time for this summer’s European Championships.