LONDON (ShareCast) - Gaming company Rank reported lower half year revenues and pre-tax profits and said it has experienced a slight weakening in its performance.

Pre-tax profit narrowed to £17.6m in the six months ended 30 June from £37.3m last time, while revenue fell to £257m compared with £284.6m in 2007.

The group has decided not to pay an interim dividend but said it intents to resume payments once trading conditions and the market outlook have improved.

“The trading environment for all of our businesses remains challenging, with rising operating costs and increased financial pressures on our customers,” said chief executive Ian Burke.

“We remain positive on the longer term outlook for the UK gaming market. Our aim is to attract more customers to our businesses as we build on service improvement, games development, capital investment and regulatory reform to create more entertaining gaming experiences,” he added.

• News Channel