Wednesday May 7, 08:37 AM
Rank encouraged despite revenue fall
LONDON (ShareCast) - A combination of tax changes and the impact of the smoking ban knocked Rank's revenue by 8% in the first four months of 2008, though the bingo and casino owner is encouraged by the performance. "On a like-for-like
basis, group revenue was 8% lower than in the first 17 weeks of 2007, reflecting the year-on-year effects on our UK retail businesses of the English and Welsh smoking bans and the loss of Section 21 gaming terminals," Rank said. The firm expressed disappointment by the government's decision to reject industry calls for taxation reform for bingo in its Budget 2008, arguing that HM Treasury should grant bingo parity with other forms of gaming in Britain through the abolition of VAT on bingo revenues. For the 17 weeks to 27 April, Mecca Bingo revenue declined by 14% on a like-for-like basis, with admissions down 13% and spend per head down 1%, though Rank says this is a modest improvement in trading compared with the final four months in 2007. Grosvenor Casinos revenue declined by 8% on a like-for-like basis, with admissions down 14% and spend per head up 5%. Revenue at Blue Square, its interactive business, was strongly ahead of the comparable period in 2007. "Given the difficult trading environment for our retail gaming businesses we are encouraged by the group's start to 2008," Rank added, though it expects a challenging year for the industry.
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