Slot machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd expects its first-half profit before tax to be flat compared to a year earlier, despite an increase in revenue.
The Australia-listed firm said it anticipated profit before tax for the six months to June 30 – excluding currency exchange impacts and one-off items – to be around AUD14.0 million. That would be in comparison to the AUD14.3-million profit achieved in the previous corresponding period.
Revenue for the January to June 2025 period is expected to “reflect improvement of approximately 6.0 percent when compared to the AUD142.7 million in the prior six months ended 31 December 2024,” stated the firm.
The company said the estimate was “based on preliminary management forecasts, subject to period end closure and audit procedures”.
The expected growth in revenue was “primarily attributable to improved revenue contributions within Australia, following the release of the ‘Raptor’ cabinet in February 2025,” said the gaming supplier in a Monday filing.
“Revenue in the key market of North America is expected to be broadly consistent with second-half 2024, with revenue expected to be similar on a constant currency basis,” noted the company.
“The challenging conditions due to import restrictions in Mexico have remained within the Latin America/Europe region in the current period, with revenue expected to be lower by approximately 14 percent when compared to second-half 2024, despite increased contributions from recurring revenue from units under gaming operation in this region,” it added.
Troy Primmer, Ainsworth’s president for Asia Pacific, said in recent comments to GGRAsia that the slot machine maker is focused on expanding its footprint in Asia Pacific, aiming to deploy the Raptor cabinet across the region.
“We launched that [the Raptor cabinet] in Australia in February, and it’s been a resounding success. It’s currently being approved in the Philippines and it’s going through the approval stages in other markets in the region,” he added. Mr Primmer was speaking during the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2025, a major casino industry trade show and conference that took place in Macau last week.
In Monday’s filing, Ainsworth said underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) – excluding currency impacts – for the first six months of 2025 “is expected to be similar to the AUD26.8 million” reported in the prior-year period.
The announcement cited Ainsworth’s chairman, Danny Gladstone, as saying that the expected results were “in line” with the firm’s expectations and reflected the “initial growth of Australian revenues following the launch of the Raptor cabinet, offset against ongoing challenging conditions” in international markets, as well as “an increased cost base and continued investment to support” the group’s revenue growth.
In late April it was disclosed that Austrian gaming equipment supplier Novomatic AG had proposed to acquire the remainder of the share capital it does not yet control in Ainsworth. Novomatic currently has an interest in 52.9 percent in Ainsworth’s shares on issue.
The deal – by way of a scheme of arrangement – will see Ainsworth shareholders receive cash consideration of AUD1.00 per Ainsworth share once the scheme is implemented.
Mr Gladstone reaffirmed in Monday’s update that an independent board committee established by Ainsworth to review Novomatic’s proposal “recommends that [Ainsworth] shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal”.
