It seems even given one of the biggest restructuring programs, with the previous owners wiping off £670m, a £70m VAT refund that Europe’s largest gambling group still can’t make a profit. Gala Coral, which owns the Gala Bingo brand, Coral bookmakers and Casinos still managed to report a £188m loss for the first reporting period since the restructuring program.

The shock results come after massive write-downs in the bingo operation, intra-company loans and huge interest costs. The company which includes 144 bingo clubs, one of the top online bingo sites, 26 casinos, online and land based betting sites reported sales of £1.2bn for the year ending 25th September 2010.

The write-down in assets cost the company £123m and a £54m restructuring charge left operating profits at just £105m. Even without these costs the company would have failed to make a profit given the £306m interest payments. The board will no doubt be claiming that this is a significant improvement given that the previous year it managed a £495m record loss.

Excuses in the accounts from the directors for the performance suggest the company has been hit be general spending, 'be this stake per slip in Coral, spend per head in bingo or drop per head in casinos'.

Whether it be seen as good or bad news the company did benefit from a £70m refund for overpaid VAT on bingo and slot machines, it should be noted that going forwards this is a one time benefit and is not going to aid future accounts. The common view within the industry is that while admissions maybe slightly up for 2011 spending per customer is likely to be down on previous years as the economic crisis takes its hold. This is likely to result in further problems for the troubled gambling giant.

The restructuring which was finally completed last year saw the owners lose £670m in equity and American firm Apollo Management take control of the business. During the extensive restructuring debts at the company were reduced by £350m to £2.2bn. The company which is now headed by Carl Leaver is expected to be one of the main contenders to buy the state own Tote bookmaker.