Gaming machine and services provider Aristocrat has announced that it recorded a 14 percent increase in net profit (NPATA) in the six months ended March 31st, totaling AU$659 million ($439.35 million), with EBITDA up 5.7 percent, to AU$1.02 billion ($678.9 million) as Aristocrat Gaming Americas offset “challenging mobile gaming market conditions for Pixel United”. Revenue totaled AU$3.08 billion ($2.08 billion), up 12.1 percent yearly.
In North America, outright unit sales rose by 27 percent, with the average selling price per unit increasing 21 percent, with its installed base increasing to 27,299, confirming its position as the ‘leading supplier in the US market’. The group recorded revenue of AU$1.44 billion ($960 million) for the period, up 26.4 percent, with profit up 20.6 percent, to AU$800.1 million ($533.42 million).
Meanwhile, the group’s Australia and New Zealand segment saw revenue drop by 0.5 percent, to AU$221.6 million ($147.74 million), with segment profit down 15.7 percent, to AU$76.5 million ($51 million).
Segments
Despite the conditions – a 10 percent drop in the global mobile games market during the fiscal year, Pixel outperformed the global mobile games market, ‘continuing to grow share in Social Casino’, with average bookings per daily active user up 13 percent ‘driven by performance in social casino and RPG, Strategy & Action’.
Pixel United delivered a 0.7 percent rise in revenue, to AU$1.32 billion ($880 million).
The group notes that its recent RMG acquisition, Anaxi, ‘delivered on its initial market entry commitment sand established sound foundations for growth.
The group notes that it now has signed agreements with partners in the US for some 55 percent of the iGaming market – including Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, BetMGM and Penn Entertainment – and is on target to penetrate ‘at least 70 percent of regulated jurisdictions across North America over the next five years’.
Aristocrat’s CEO, Trevor Croker, highlighted the group’s recent $1.2 billion acquisition of RMG content and technology solutions company NeoGames, noting it would help in “capturing the significant strategic opportunities in front of us”.
During the half year, the group put some AU$372 million ($248 million) into design and development, including a AU$42 million ($28 million) investment in Anaxi, as well as AU$240 million ($160 million) into user acquisition.
The group also notes that during the period ‘with the support of the New South Wales government and a major customer, Aristocrat’s Australian-first trial of cashless Electronic Gaming Machine technology was expanded […] to include around 140 EGMs’.
The company has so far completed 48 percent of it’s AU$1 billion ($670 million) share buyback program, since expanded by $500 million ($333.34 million).
