Aristocrat Leisure Reports Strong Annual Profit Growth

Australian gaming company, Aristocrat Leisure, has announced a significant increase in its annual profit, citing a strong performance in its slot-machine business. The ASX-listed company revealed a net profit of AUD 1.45 billion for the 12 months through September, marking a 53% increase from the previous year’s AUD 948.5 million. The company’s revenue also experienced growth, rising by 13% to reach AUD 6.30 billion.

After excluding one-off items, the normalized net profit saw a 21% rise to AUD 1.33 billion. The average analyst forecast had predicted a normalized net profit of AUD 1.29 billion from revenue of AUD 6.22 billion.

Aristocrat Leisure demonstrated its commitment to providing value to its shareholders by increasing its final dividend to AUD 0.34, up from AUD 0.26 in the previous year.

Chief Executive Trevor Croker attributed the company’s success to the ongoing resilience, competitiveness, and diversification of their portfolio. He stated, “The growth that Aristocrat delivered over the period demonstrates the ongoing resilience, competitiveness, and diversification of our portfolio. At the same time, we have been able to accelerate investment behind our successful growth strategy.”

Aristocrat Leisure credited its execution in North America and its high-performing gaming portfolio as key drivers of its impressive results. Notably, the company reported a 26% year-on-year rise in outright slots sales in North America.

Aristocrat’s Mobile-Games Division Shines Amidst Global Market Decline

Aristocrat, a leading gaming company, has reported a resilient performance from its mobile-games division, Pixel United, despite a 5% decline in the global games market. Additionally, the company’s real-money online gaming business, Anaxi, has successfully signed agreements with partners encompassing more than 80% of the U.S. iGaming market.

Looking ahead, Aristocrat foresees further growth in normalized net profit for fiscal 2024. This positive outlook is driven by the company’s planned acquisition of NeoGames, a Nasdaq-listed company, for a substantial sum of $1.2 billion. This transaction will be financed using Aristocrat’s existing cash reserves. The acquisition is expected to boost earnings-per-share from fiscal 2025 onward, once the amortization of acquired intangibles is accounted for.

Industry analysts have commended the strategic move by Aristocrat to acquire NeoGames, as it provides the company with valuable iGaming technology and opens up opportunities in the rapidly expanding U.S. online gaming market.

Despite these positive developments, Aristocrat cautions that it is keeping an eye on possible moderation in consumer spending in its key markets. However, overall, the company remains confident in maintaining strong market share, revenue growth, and profit growth within its gaming unit.