Gala’s £42.1m

Gala Coral recently announced a turnover increase by 4% to £42.1m, during the 16 weeks to January 14. Sources from Rank have also told us that talks between Gala and Rank are still on-going. So we will keep u posted as and when we hear any updates. Rank has been in talks with Gala since January. The deal could be worth around £250m.

Carl Leaver, Chief Executive of Gala Group commented: “We are pleased with the progress in trading since our last update, with continued positive momentum across all of our businesses, helped by a much milder winter. We are particularlypleased with the strong growth in OTC staking levels in Coral and the excellent growth shown by the Bingo business year to date. The recent weeks have been more challenging, however, due to the adverse weather, and we continue to be cautious about the impact of the economic outlook on our businesses. Accordingly, whilst these first quarter results put us on track to meet our growth targets across all of our businesses in 2012, we have put robust profit protection plans in place.”

Total gross profit stood at £35.9m, compared with £33.6m in the corresponding period in 2011. Gaming delivered gross profit growth of six per cent, with gross profit from machines increasing eight per cent. The latter was attributed to the renegotiation of contracts and improved customer service.

The company said that it planned to roll out 500 new Sabre electronic roulette terminals from Inspired Gaming during the second quarter of the year, which are expected to support gaming growth over the course of the year.

Carl added: ““The recent weeks have been more challenging, however, due to the adverse weather and we continue to be cautious about the impact of the economic outlook on our businesses.

“Accordingly, while these first quarter results put us on track to meet our growth targets across all of our businesses in 2012, we have put robust profit protection plans in place.”