Casino and bingo hall firm Rank Group has swung back to a profit for the past half-year as more punters returned to its venues.

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The Mecca Bingo operator said it was boosted by “busy trading” through Christmas and New Year.

The group recorded a pre-tax profit of £10.4 million [$13.3 million] for the six months to December 31, bouncing back from a £109.1 million [$139.0 million] loss over the same period a year earlier.

Chief executive John O’Reilly said: “After what has been a very challenging few years for Rank due to a wide range of external macro factors, we are starting to build revenues and, with our strong operational leverage, we are improving our profitability, with the group delivering revenue and operating profit growth across all businesses.”