Rank Group (RNK) H2 2020 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Strong trading before lockdown, followed by venue closures from 20 March 2020; cost actions, furlough support and available liquidity helped protect cash.

• Reopening brought encouraging early demand, but trading remained constrained by social distancing, weaker London activity and customer confidence.

Financial highlights

• FY 2019/20 NGR was £638.1m, down 8% reported and 15% LFL; underlying operating profit was £51.1m versus £75.7m, down 32%.

• Profit before tax was £15.4m versus £34.6m; continuing-operations profit after tax was £9.4m versus £27.6m.

• Underlying EPS fell to 7.0p from 15.3p; reported EPS was 2.5p versus 7.4p. The final dividend was cancelled.

• Underlying net debt, pre IFRS 16, was £63.2m at 30 June 2020 versus £1.8m net cash a year earlier.

Outlook and guidance

• Early trading indicated a return to positive cash flow was possible if venues remained open; management expected revenue to recover as footfall and customer confidence improved and restrictions eased.

• Further guidance was to follow at the AGM, with more trading experience after Grosvenor reopened; capex guidance for FY 2020/21 was £30m.

• Transformation 2.0 targets revenue growth and cost efficiencies through seven workstreams, with a three-year aspiration and spending flexibility shaped by cash constraints.