Rank Group reports revenue and profit growth after rejection of William Hill takeover bid
Casino operator Rank Group has reported "solid" results for the year to 30 June, less than one week after abandoning its takeover bid for William Hill.
The figures
Group revenue was up two per cent to £753m from £738.3m.
Profit for the year dipped slightly to £74.7m from £74.8m in 2015, while pre-tax profit rose by four per cent to £77.4m from £74.1m.
Earnings per share grew five per cent to hit 15.4p, compared with 14.6p last year.
The group also announced a 16 per cent increase in the dividend, up to 6.5p per share.
Shares in the company were up 2.8 per cent in early trading.
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Why it's interesting
Rank, which owns the Grosvenor casino and Mecca bingo brands, delayed the release of its results due to a proposed joint bid for William Hill in conjunction with 888 Holdings. However, that bid was abandoned last week after William Hill rejected two offers from the consortium – the bookmaker's boss, Gareth Davis, said both deals had "substantially undervalued" the company.
Today's results came in within the range of expectations.
What Rank said
"This year we have focussed on delivering significant projects to ensure we have the right platform in place for future growth," said Rank Group chief executive Henry Birch.
"This included the migration of our digital business onto a new platform, the rollout of an improved retail casino management system and investments into new generation machines in both our casino and bingo venues.
"At the same time we have delivered a substantial increase in the dividend to our shareholders."
He added: "Rank remains in a strong financial position, possesses market-leading brands and has a clear strategy for long-term growth. The board continues to look to the future with confidence."
In short
Rank Group is putting the William Hill rejection behind it.