Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic AG Group reported group-wide earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR587.5 million (US$648.6 million) in 2021, up 92.1 percent from the previous year. The company stated that despite a recovery in business activity, its performance last year was “again affected” by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to its annual report published on April 1.
The group reported revenue of EUR1.84 billion for full-year 2021, an increase of 5.7 percent from the prior year.
Novomatic reported a net profit of EUR65.7 million last year. That compares with a loss of EUR227.8 million in 2020.
The group – traditionally strong in Europe and the Americas – has been working to increase the presence of its casino gaming machine products in Asia-Pacific markets. Novomatic controls a 52-percent stake in Australian slot machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd.
“While the group’s gaming facilities were closed for around three months in the first half of the previous year, the facilities in the group’s core markets in particular were subject to longer closures in the first half of 2021, lasting until the end of June in some cases,” said Novomatic.
It added: “Following a rapid recovery in business activity in the second and third quarters, the fourth quarter of 2021, similar to the previous year, saw renewed closures … in several markets, some of which continued for the rest of the year.”
The group said revenue from its gaming operations declined by 3.5 percent year-on-year, to EUR1.03 billion in 2021. But the gaming technology segment “reported higher sales year-on-year in almost all markets,” with such income rising 20.3 percent year-on-year, to EUR806.2 million.
Novomatic operated and leased an aggregate of nearly 212,000 gaming devices at the end of 2021, according to its annual report. It sold 25,755 gaming devices during the reporting period, compared to 15,046 units in 2020.
The company is active in several gaming segments around the world, including casino business, lotteries, sports betting, online gaming and mobile play.
In May, Novomatic said it had restructured its global operations and appointed Thomas Komnacky as a vice president, to oversee that part of the business.
