Rank results rankle

Profits down 15.8%

By ERICH BOEHM

LONDON -- The Rank Group has posted disappointing results for the year ending Dec. 31, with pre-tax profit before exceptionals at £255 million ($415.7 million), down 15.8% on 1997.

After exceptionals, the group had a pre-tax loss of $83.1 million though sales were up 2.2% to $3.35 billion.

Rank's film and video processing division, Deluxe, saw sales of $1.06 billion, up 4%, but operating profit was flat due to a very poor second half.

Rank said video volume in the U.S. rose 11.6% but that demand for "Titanic" caused production and packaging problems that required work to be subcontracted, resulting in "revenue with little profit contribution."

The Odeon cinema chain boosted screens by 11% in 1998, but admissions fell by 4.7%, in part because Odeon had closed key London sites for refurbishment. Sales for the year were flat.

Pinewood Studios had "improved profits" in 1998, despite a general downturn in film production in the U.K. Rank noted that lensing has just commenced on the new James Bond pic, "The World Is not Enough," and that more stages are being constructed at Pinewood, facilities that will become available in August.