The Rank Group has reported an uptick in net gaming revenue for its third quarter, with venues and digital channels improving and trading in line with expectations.
For the period ending March 31, 2024, Rank noted that Q3 NGR rose by six per cent year-over-year to £182.3m. Year to date, NGR has improved by eight per cent YoY to £544.9m.
Mecca venues underwent the biggest NGR increase in Q3, rising by 12 per cent YoY to £37.3m. YTD, NGR for the segment stands at £104.5m, a 10 per cent improvement.
Rank credits the uptick during the quarter to a five per cent growth in customer visits and a seven per cent rise in spend per visit, “particularly benefiting from strong trading over the Mother’s Day and Easter weekends”.
Grosvenor venues generated the most NGR during the measuring period, rising by three per cent YoY to £80m. YTD, NGR has improved by eight per cent to £247.5m.
The operator noted that NGR for Grosvenor venues was driven by a five per cent increase in visitors, but since the quarter is a “seasonally quieter period”, average weekly NGR of £6.2m was up two per cent YoY but down two per cent in comparison to the previous quarter.
Enracha venues NGR improved by six per cent YoY to £10m. YTD, NGR rose by nine per cent to £163.4m.
Digital operations NGR grew by six per cent to £55m. YTD, NGR has increased by eight per cent to £544.9m. Rank noted that digital operations in the UK improved by four per cent, while Spanish operations grew by 20 per cent.
Rank has also agreed to sell its holding in the Indian online rummy business Passion Gaming for a “nominal consideration”, a sale which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
John O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Rank, commented: “We continue to make good progress across both our venues and online businesses, with Q3 trading very much in line with the Board’s expectations.
“Performance continues to improve, and we have the very important land-based reforms from the Government’s White Paper to look forward to, which we hope to start implementing in the coming months.”
For the UK’s digital operations, Mecca NGR improved by 21 per cent, but Grosvenor NGR only rose by one per cent due to a “weaker gaming margin with some big customer wins”.
Rank noted that “planned reductions in marketing investment” led to an NGR reduction of 13 per cent across other UK digital brands, with “improvements in the return on investment delivered in March and continuing into Q4”.
Both Mecca and Grosvenor also launched new CMS to improve “operational efficiency and speed to market for customer proposition enhancements”. Meanwhile, in Spain, the Yo brands “continued to deliver strong NGR growth”.