Gaming group Stanley Leisure gave investors a lift today by announcing that trading had improved since its annual meeting in September.
The Liverpool-based bookmaker said good performances from its provincial casinos and 660 British betting shops since September meant a "satisfactory" outcome for the group as a whole for the six months to October 26th. Stanley Leisure, which is due to announce its interim results in January, also reported encouraging signs from its world-renowned casino Crockfords.
Shareholders at the group's annual meeting in September were warned that profitability at Crockfords had been hit by losses to major players. But in today's update, Stanley Leisure said the win margin at Crockfords had improved in the past two months.
However, the company added: "This has not been enough to recapture the losses to major players encountered in the first few months of the financial year." Provincial casinos and mid-market casinos in London, including the Palm Beach, which had its opening hours extended to 6 a.m. in September, had made good progress.
Traditional betting products at its bookmakers had seen increased popularity among punters since September, Stanley Leisure stated.
Returns from its fixed odds betting terminal business were higher now that more than 1,000 machines had been installed in branches of its betting offices.
Stanley Leisure reported half-year pre-tax profit of £24.7 million sterling before the amortisation of goodwill last year. Shareholders were told that at the annual meeting in September that this profit was "unusually high" and boosted by a strong trading result from Crockfords.
Stanley Leisure shares opened flat at 369 pence in early morning trading in London.
PA