The Rank Group enjoyed "strong growth" in 2010, the company's chief executive said, driven largely by the company's casinos.

Announcing the company’s results for last year, Ian Burke said the casino, bingo and online gaming operator improved its earnings through stronger revenue and profit generation, as well as a substantial reduction in debt.

Overall, group revenue hit £567.8m, up from £540m in the previous year. Group EBITDA increased from £83.9m in 2009 to £92.3m by the end of December, while adjusted profit before tax stood at £55.2m, compared with the previous year’s total of £48.5m.

Net debt fell from £186.8m at the close of 2009 to £123.4m at the end of last year.

Rank’s Grosvenor casino arm made the largest contribution to group revenue and operating profit. Revenue improved 8.5 per cent to £238.6m due to continued like-for-like growth in customer visits, particularly at the newly branded G Casino venues. Operating profit increased by 16.5 per cent to £36m.

"We own a number of established and trusted gaming brands and have the rare ability to deliver them across a range of land-based venues and remote channels," said Burke. "We are developing increasingly sophisticated systems for understanding and engaging with our customers and our management team is motivated to deliver outstanding service to customers."