2004 FORM 20-F the Rank Rank the Group Plc 2004 Form 20-F
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2004 FORM 20-F The Rank Group Plc Group 2004 Form 20-F 2004 Form The Rank Group Plc Tel 020 7706 1111 6 Connaught Place Fax 020 7262 9886 London W2 2EZ www.rank.com As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 26, 2005 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 20-F ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2004 Commission file number 0- 28952 THE RANK GROUP Plc (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) England (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) 6 Connaught Place London W2 2EZ (Address of principal executive offices) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Name of each exchange Title of each class on which registered None Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Ordinary shares of 10p each (Title of class) Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: Ordinary shares .............................................................................................................624,055,505 Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [ x ] No [ ] Indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 [ x ] Item 18 [ ] TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Definitions.......................................................................................................................................................ii Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................iv PART 1 Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers ............................................................... 1 Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable ....................................................................................... 1 Item 3. Key Information ............................................................................................................................. 1 Item 4. Information on the Company ......................................................................................................... 9 Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects ......................................................................... 21 Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees.......................................................................... 47 Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions ................................................................. 54 Item 8. Financial Information ................................................................................................................... 55 Item 9. The Offer and Listing................................................................................................................... 56 Item 10. Additional Information.................................................................................................................. 57 Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk...................................................... 64 Item 12. Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities................................................................ 66 PART II Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies...................................................................... 67 Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds .......................... 67 PART III Item 15. Disclosure Controls and Procedures........................................................................................... 67 Item 16a Audit Committee Financial Expert ............................................................................................. 67 Item 16b Code of Ethics............................................................................................................................. 67 Item 16c Accountants Fees and Services ................................................................................................. 67 Item 16d Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees ................................................... 68 Item 16e Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers.................................... 68 PART IV Item 17. Financial Statements................................................................................................................... 68 Item 18. Financial Statements................................................................................................................... 69 Item 19. Exhibits ........................................................................................................................................ 69 i DEFINITIONS The following definitions are used in this Form 20-F: “ADR” means an American Depositary Receipt evidencing one or more ADRs. “ADS” means American Depositary Shares, each representing two Ordinary shares. “Atlab” means Atlab Holdings Pty Limited. “Company”, “Group”, “Rank” and means The Rank Group Plc, and its subsidiary companies. “Rank Group” “Convertible preference means the convertible cumulative redeemable preference shares of 20 shares” pence each in Rank. “C$ dollars” or “Canadian refers to Canadian currency. Dollars” “DGMS” means Deluxe Global Media Services LLC. “Depositary” means JP Morgan Chase Bank, as the depositary under the deposit agreement governing the ADRs. “Dollar preference shares” means the Dollar preference shares of US $1,000 each in Rank. “EFILM” means EFILM LLC. “ETS” means Entertainment Transportation Specialists, Inc. “Exceptional items” means events or transactions that fall within the activities of the Group which need to be disclosed by virtue of their size or incidence. Performance measures, such as operating profit, are usually given before and after exceptional items. “FRS” means Financial Reporting Standard. “The Lab” means The Lab in Toronto, Inc. “Like-for-like sales” means turnover measured on the same basis for more than one year. Only locations which traded on a comparable basis in the prior year are included in like-for-like sales comparisons “Interest cover” means the number of times the Group can meet its interest commitments from its earnings calculated by dividing operating profit by the interest charge. “non-GAAP measures” means measures of performance which are not specified by UK or US accounting bodies. “noon buying rate” refers to the noon buying rate in New York for cable transfers in foreign currencies as announced by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for customs purposes. ii “Ordinary shares” means Ordinary shares of 10 pence each in Rank. “Pounds sterling”, “£”, refers to United Kingdom currency. “pence”, “penny” or “p” “Profit on ordinary activities” means the Group’s profit before interest and taxation. Usually given both before and after exceptional items. “The Rank Organisation” or means XRO Limited, formerly The Rank Organisation Limited, formerly “Rank Organisation” The Rank Organisation Plc. “Rank Xerox” Xerox Limited, (formerly Rank Xerox Limited), Xerox Holding (Nederland) BV, (formerly Rank Xerox Holding BV), Xerox Investments (Bermuda) Limited, (formerly Rank Xerox Investments Limited) and Xerox Holdings (Bermuda) Limited (formerly RX Holdings Limited) together with, where the context so requires, their respective subsidiaries and certain joint ventures and associated companies. “SFAS” means Statement of Financial Accounting Standards “Scheme of Arrangement” means the Scheme of Arrangement of The Rank Organisation dated August 16, 1996 (under section 425 of the UK Companies Act 1985, as amended) which became effective on October 7, 1996 “Subsidiary company” means a subsidiary in which the holding company holds all or a majority of the voting rights. “US dollars”, “dollars” or “$” refer to United States’ currency. “UK GAAP” refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United Kingdom. “US GAAP” refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. “Year end rate” refers to the closing exchange rate applicable to December 31 as published in the Financial Times in the United Kingdom. iii INTRODUCTION The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Group are prepared in accordance with UK GAAP, which differ in certain significant respects from US GAAP and, unless otherwise indicated, all financial data is presented in accordance with UK GAAP. The information within this report contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to Rank’s development and expansion plans in its existing businesses, including plans arising as a result of recent UK gambling legislation, and the e- gaming business, and the timing thereof, Rank’s capital expenditure plans, the growth of DVD replication and the decline of video