REG - Rank Group PLC - Trading Statement

RankAnnouncement

21/04/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 8217I  Rank Group PLC  21 April 2022

21 April 2022

 

The Rank Group Plc

LEI: 213800TXKD6XZWOFTE12

Trading Statement

The Rank Group Plc (LSE: RNK) ('Rank' or 'Group') provides a trading update
for the quarter to 31 March 2022

Q3 Trading

 LFL NGR                Q3 2021/22  Q3 2020/21  Change

                        £m          £m
 Grosvenor venues       69.1        0.1         -
 Mecca venues           34.1        0.3         -
 Enracha venues         8.0         2.2         -
 UK digital             40.0        40.6        (1)%
 International digital  5.2         5.5         (5)%
 Group                  156.4       48.7        221%

 

Venues

As is clear from the table above, our UK venues (Grosvenor and Mecca) were
closed for the entirety of Q3 2020/21.  Our Enracha venues in Spain were open
for part of the prior year third quarter but under very severe capacity
restrictions.

The most recent comparable non-COVID-19 affected third quarter period is
therefore the three months to 31 March 2019.  Against that comparative
period, Grosvenor venues NGR was down 14% and Mecca venues down 25%.  For
both our UK venues businesses there was a softness in visits at the end of the
quarter consistent with the rise in new COVID-19 cases reported across the UK.

Enracha venues performance continued to recover, with NGR down just 2%
compared to the same quarter in 2018/19.

Whilst the recovery is taking time, we believe that in the medium term there
remains a strong path to recovery to the pre-COVID-19 levels.

Digital

UK digital NGR was down 1% year on year.  Grosvenor digital grew NGR by 3%,
as it continues to benefit from omni-channel players from our Grosvenor
venues.  Mecca digital NGR was down 11% due to the anticipated impact of its
migration onto the RIDE platform in January.  The performance of our
remaining digital brands continued to be mixed, with a growth of 42% in our
other brands operating on the RIDE platform partly offset by a revenue decline
of 25% in the non-proprietary brands following the introduction of
affordability restrictions in H1 2021/22 by other operators.

International digital was down 5%.

Outlook

We enter Q4 at the start of a traditionally low seasonal period in our
Grosvenor venues with visit numbers down.  We anticipate an improvement in
performance post April, but it remains to be seen how the trends in the rate
of return of office workers to city centres and overseas customers to London
will develop towards the summer.

Considering the Q3 trends, notably the softness in our UK venues towards the
end of the quarter and continued inflationary costs, we are updating our
previously guided EBIT range of £55m-£65m for the year ending 30 June 2022
to a range of £47m-£55m.

John O'Reilly, CEO of Rank, said:

"The performance of our venues softened in March, and this has continued into
the first few weeks of Q4, impacting our current expectations for our full
year performance. We recognise the pressures on UK consumers but are confident
that the improvements we are continuing to make to the customer proposition
and the investments in our venues, alongside the gradually reducing impact of
the pandemic and, with it, the return of overseas customers, position us well
for the year ahead."

Forthcoming announcements

Rank will announce its preliminary results for the 12 months ending 30 June
2022 on 18 August 2022.

Ends

 

 Contacts:
 Rank
 Sarah Powell - investor relations              Tel: +44 1628 504 303
 David Williams - public affairs                Tel: +44 1628 504 295

 Media Enquiries:
 FTI Consulting LLP (PR adviser to Rank)
 Edward Bridges                                 Tel: +44 20 3727 1067
 Alex Beagley                                   Tel: +44 20 3727 1045

 

 

Information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No.
596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information
is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

Notes to editors:

1.     Net gaming revenue ('NGR') is GGR less customer incentives.

2.     Like-for-like excludes the impacts of venue openings, closures,
relocations, acquired businesses and foreign exchange movements.

3.     Q3 is for the period 1 January to 31 March.

4.     Digital comprises the Grosvenor, Mecca, Stride, Yo and Enracha
brands.

5.     EBIT is earnings before exceptional items, interest and tax.

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