Casino operator Rank Group plc (LON:RNK) is upbeat on current trading as it reported increased revenue and profits in its latest full year and an 18% increase to the final dividend.
On the Brexit vote at the end of June, the Mecca bingo owner said it expected it to have little or no direct impact on Rank's performance seeing as it's mainly a UK facing business with limited exposure to non-sterling costs and earnings.
Any impact would be from lower UK growth rates or a loss of consumer confidence, it said.
Today's results come after a bid for High Street bookmaker William Hill (LON:WMH) by Rank and 888 Holdings PLC (LON:888) was abandoned last week after the former showed no interest in engaging with the consortium.
For the 12 months to June 30, Rank posted a 15% increase in profit before tax after exceptional items at £85.5mln compared to £74.5mln the previous year on revenue, which was 2% higher at £753mln.
The final dividend was lifted 18% to 4.7p versus 4p previously.
The firm said the highlights included continued strong digital revenue growth, up 11% and revenue at Mecca retail bingo up 2% on a like-for-like basis. Group debt was further reduces with leverage down to 0.3 times'.
Henry Birch, Rank chief executive, said: "This year we have focused on delivering significant projects to ensure we have the right platform in place for future growth.
"This included the migration of our digital business onto a new platform, the rollout of an improved retail casino management system and investments into new generation machines in both our casino and bingo venues.
"At the same time we have delivered a substantial increase in the dividend to our shareholders."