FTSE 250 movers: Rank, Saga surge

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,664.73 -0.26% Gambling operator Rank on Wednesday forecast a higher-than-expected full year operating profit of at least £68m after a 5% jump in third-quarter net gaming revenue.

The owner of Mecca bingo and Grosvenor casinos said NGR for the three months to March came in at £205.4m, with year-to-date NGR up 6% year on year. Analysts were expecting annual operating profits of around £65m.

Rank added that the forecast took account of energy cost volatility which, based on current market prices and reflecting the group's hedging policy, was not expected to have a material impact on profitability in 2025/26 or 2026/27.

Growth was also expected in the fourth quarter at Grosvenor venues despite the Iran war creating uncertainty around international travel for wealthy punters from the Middle East, the company added.

Digital like-for-like NGR grew 4% with the UK business growing 2%. Rank said it had taken measures to mitigate the impact of the increase in the governments remote gaming duty to 40%, effective from April 1, including job cuts to protect marketing spend and customer incentives.

"Having implemented the actions required to mitigate much of the impact of higher RGD in our UK digital business, and with clear plans in place to drive sustainable revenue growth, the group is well placed to deliver the medium-term objective of generating at least £100m operating profit," said interim chief executive Richard Harris.

Saga said on Wednesday that it swung to a full-year profit, exceeding guidance thanks to strong performances in the travel and insurance segments.

In the year to the end of January 2026, the company - which specialises in products for the over-50s - swung to a pre-tax profit of £2.1m from a loss of £160.2m the year before.

Underlying pre-tax profit was up 19% at £44.2m versus consensus expectations of £42.9m, despite expected higher finance costs, while underlying revenue rose 11% to £654.6m, with growth across both travel and insurance. This resulted in a 16% jump in trading EBITDA to £134.9m.

Saga said the leverage ratio fell to 3.7x from 4.4x. Looking ahead, the company remains confident in achieving at least £100m of annual underlying pre-tax profit and the leverage ratio falling below 2.0x by January 2030.

Chief executive Mike Hazell said: "This has been a transformational year for Saga. The restructuring of our insurance business, and the partnership with Ageas, derisks and simplifies our operating model, creating a more stable platform for growth. Alongside this, we continued to see growth across all our travel businesses, driven in particular by the newly combined management team's relentless focus on delivering differentiated travel experiences designed with the needs of our customers in mind.

"The result was an excellent trading performance that drove growth across all our core businesses, and a strong financial performance, with underlying profit before tax and the leverage ratio significantly ahead of our original guidance."

At 1055 BST, the shares were up 10.8% at 645.07p.

Broker Peel Hunt reiterated its 'buy' rating and 700p price target on the shares after the results. It said current trading is encouraging but there is still a long way to go and its forecasts remain at the top of the range.

"The time and effort freed up by the restructuring of travel and insurance can now be applied to driving growth," it said.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 390.00p 12.20% Rank Group (RNK) 101.00p 11.73% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 599.50p 7.73% Playtech (PTEC) 415.00p 4.95% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 447.20p 2.53% THG (THG) 35.80p 2.40% Gamma Communications (GAMA) 880.80p 2.40% HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 3,200.00p 2.24% Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 876.00p 1.86% NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,494.00p 1.77%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Currys (CURY) 132.30p -3.36% Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 437.00p -2.89% SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 42.80p -2.84% ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,372.00p -2.56% Serco Group (SRP) 291.80p -2.54% Mitie Group (MTO) 181.00p -2.53% Moonpig Group (MOON) 216.20p -2.17% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 503.50p -2.04% Volution Group (FAN) 632.00p -2.02% Pagegroup (PAGE) 133.90p -1.97%