Rank now expects at least £76m in full-year operating profit, beating a £68.2m analyst consensus, as digital revenue accelerated through the final quarter.
Rank Group (LSE:RNK) shares rose sharply on Tuesday after the casino and bingo operator lifted its full-year operating profit guidance in a trading update covering the year to 30 June 2026, its second consecutive guidance upgrade this year.
Shares in Rank Group are trading up 4.5% at 98.7p by late morning in London on Tuesday, having climbed as high as 106.4p earlier in the session. The stock remains well below the 166.2p high it touched in July 2025 but is comfortably clear of the 86p low struck in March 2026.
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What Rank Announced
Rank said full-year underlying operating profit would be at least £76m, more than 11% ahead of the £68.2m analyst consensus. Group like-for-like net gaming revenue rose 6% to around £834m for the year, according to Gaming Intelligence. UK digital revenue rose 12% in the fourth quarter, up from 2% growth in the third quarter, even as the Remote Gaming Duty rose to 40% from 1 April 2026 following last November’s Autumn Budget. Rank said it protected performance marketing and customer incentives while cutting broader marketing spend, supplier costs and headcount to offset the tax rise. Grosvenor venues, its casino arm, grew like-for-like revenue 3% in the fourth quarter and 5% over the full year.
The update also flagged a £5m provision tied to a proposed settlement with the Gambling Commission over “historical compliance failings” at Grosvenor Casinos, covering a review period from November 2024 to May 2025. Rank submitted the settlement proposal in May 2026 and said the regulator has indicated it is “minded to accept” it, with a finalisation letter still awaited.
This is Rank’s second straight upgrade to its profit outlook. In April, the group told markets it was on track to deliver like-for-like operating profit of £68m for the year, a trading update that itself sent shares up 8.4% at the time, according to Yahoo Finance UK. Tuesday’s guidance takes that figure higher again.
Chief executive Richard Harris said the update reflects “the progress we have made in executing our plan for growth, despite the significant cost and taxation headwinds that we have incurred during the year.” He added that the group remains focused on its “ambition to deliver at least £100m operating profit in the medium term.” Tuesday’s update is Harris’s first full-year guidance since being confirmed as permanent chief executive just days earlier, having run the business on an interim basis since John O’Reilly retired in January.
Rank shares carry an average Wall Street price target of 144.8p, well above current trading levels. Analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their price target on the stock in March while simultaneously downgrading their rating, according to Simply Wall St, reflecting growing caution around execution and regulatory risk even as the numeric target moved higher.
Rank is due to publish full preliminary results for the year on 13 August 2026, when it will set out more detail on margins and the Gambling Commission settlement. Confirmation of that settlement, and whether digital growth can hold up against the higher tax rate, will shape how much credit markets give the shares from here.