First half boost to Rank results
First numbers since closure of Guoco deal earlier this month.
Rank Group has seen its group revenues rise by 4.6% to £294m, the company revealed in its results for the six months ended 30 June.
The results are the first to be issued since the Mecca Bingo owner admitted defeat in a £585m bid from Hong-Kong based Guoco Group.
In its half-yearly report Rank revealed that it now has net cash of £37.2m, compared to net debt of £123.4m on 31 December 2010 due in large part to the receipt of £162.8m in VAT refunds. Analyst James Hollins of Evolution securities reiterated his firm’s buy recommendation, saying “We expect further income hikes and/or group investments to drive positive total shareholder returns upside”.
However, fellow analyst Nick Batram of Peel Hunt retained a hold recommendation in the short term, explaining that “after the excitement of the last few weeks, we believe that a period of consolidation and reflection is likely”.
Earlier this month eGaming Review reported that Rank would remain listed, after Guoco was unable to meet the threshold of 75% of shareholder acceptances required to delist the company from the London Stock Exchange.
Chief executive Ian Burke, who resigned over the Guoco negotiations before being subsequently reinstated six days later, said: “The strength of our first-half results reflects the success of our efforts to entertain and delight our customers, with both customer visits and customer numbers up across the group.”