UK-listed gambling operator Rank Group saw its annual profits tumble as digital gains failed to shore up ongoing retail declines.
On Thursday, Rank revealed that its revenue in the 12 months ending June 30 had slipped by £10m to £741m while operating profit slipped 7.7% to £77m. However, nearly £27m in exceptional items dragged pre-tax profit down 41% to £46.7m and statutory net profit down nearly 43% to £35.9m.
Those exceptional costs included impairment charges, “onerous leases” and the closure of its Grosvenor Bradford casino in June. That fits with the larger picture in Rank’s FY 2017/18 results, in which retail operations proved a drag on the overall numbers.
Grosvenor Casinos retail revenue was down 6% to £373m and operating profit fell 6.7% to £48.6m. London’s Grosvenor venues fared worse than those in the provinces, while the brand’s Belgium operations saw revenue fall nearly one-third as customer traffic slumped by 42.5%.