Rank’s revenue from its core online brands was up 12% to £42.4m in the second half of 2012, driven by a characteristically strong contribution from Meccabingo.com.
Revenue from Rank Group’s flagship brand was up 11% to £30.4m, boosted by marketing and acquisition initiatives. Operating profit however fell, as it did across the whole online business, due to higher costs associated with this marketing activity, narrowing to £11.4m from £11.8m.
Digital operating profit across the Meccabingo, Grosvenor Casinos and Blue Square brands fell 44% to £4.8m from £8.6m, mainly due to a widening of the losses from Blue Square online.
Operating loss from ailing Blue Square bet, which Rank announced as being under review earlier this month, increased 182% to £4.8m, from £1.7m the previous year, as increased marketing drove a 25% increase in customer numbers which failed to translate into higher customer visits.
An 18 % uplift in Blue Square’s games revenue to £4m failed to offset a 23% fall in the sportsbook to £3.6m, as Blue Square revenues also fell 6% to £7.6m, despite Rank’s substantially increased marketing spend on Blue Square during the period.
In GrosvenorCasinos.com, Rank’s online offshoot of its UK land-based casino chain, revenue nearly doubled during the period, rising by 91% to £4.4m. But this division’s operating loss however also increased, widening by 20% to £1.8m due to increased investment in marketing, CRM and product development. Rank however told investors that this investment had helped customer numbers more than double in the period.
Mobile also showed encouraging signs of growth for Rank. Revenue was up 172% to £7.5m in the six months to 31 December 2012, with over 30% of the group’s digital customers in Great Britain transacting on mobile devices in the period.
The retail and online gaming group 6% rise in revenues, driven by a Grosvenor Casinos, where operating profit was up 33%. Pre-tax profit however fell 4% due to the marketing investment in Blue Square and higher operating costs in Mecca Bingo bingo halls.
Article written by Stephen Carter
