GUOCO GROUP LIMITED (Reuters) - British gambling company Rank Group Plc (>> Rank Group PLC) reported a 29 percent rise in half-year profit, helped by its Grosvenor casinos business and online operations.
Rank said adjusted pretax profit rose to 35.8 million pounds ($54.2 million) in the first half ended Dec. 31, from 27.7 million pounds a year earlier.
Revenue from continuing operations rose 3 percent to 361.7 million pounds.
Spend per customer visit rose about 5 percent at Rank's London casinos, helping revenue grow 9 percent during the six months.
Across the group, spend per customer rose 2.2 percent to 47.19 pounds.
Revenue at Grosvenor casinos, which offers roulette, blackjack, baccarat and poker, rose 6 percent to 205.6 million pounds during the period.
Grosvenor casinos is UK's largest multi-channel casino brand and accounts for about 52 percent of group revenue, according to the company's 2014 annual report.
Rank said on Thursday it signed an agreement with Bede Gaming to supply a new core digital platform after reporting a 16 percent jump in first-half digital revenue.
Rank, which is majority owned by Malaysia's Guoco Group (>> Guoco Group Limited), had 94 Mecca bingo halls and 57 Grosvenor casinos in Britain by the end of October 2014.
The company also raised its interim dividend to 1.60 pence from 1.35 pence a year earlier.
(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
