GGRAsia – AGEM Index retreats in March amid gaming slowdown

AGEM Index retreats in March amid gaming slowdown

Apr 03, 2020 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News

The AGEM Index of share values for gaming equipment suppliers during March decreased by 156.39 points to 312.52 points, down 33.4 percent on the prior month, showed a written statement released on Thursday.

The contraction was driven by sequential stock price declines for 12 of the 13 AGEM Index companies “as global markets reacted to gaming industry shutdowns, historic unemployment claims, and a widening economic freeze due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), which issues the index.

The further effects of the pandemic have led to market-wide temporary closures of casinos in key gaming jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region and globally, affecting casino operators and gaming equipment manufacturers.

“All three major United States stock indices decreased as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 experienced monthly declines of 13.7 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq also experienced a drop of 10.1 percent,” noted the trade body.

AGEM said the index of stock prices for major publicly-listed makers of gaming equipment was 30.9 percent lower than a year earlier. The trade body produces the monthly AGEM Index in association with research firm Applied Analysis LLC.

The stock price for Australia-based slot machine maker Aristocrat Leisure Ltd dropped by 35.5 percent month-on-month in March, accounting for an 83.03-point decrease in the AGEM Index, according to Thursday’s statement.

Crane Co, a supplier of cash-handling technology to the casino sector, contributed a 20.32-point decline to the index in March. The company had a 27.6-percent sequential contraction in its share price.

International Game Technology Plc (IGT), a lottery and slot machine specialist saw a 44.1-percent contraction in its stock price judged month-on-month, but accounted for only a negative 13.55-point change in the index.

Lottery, online and casino games provider Scientific Games Corp saw a 46.8-percent sequential fall in its share price, contributing only 10.70-points of the decline seen in the March index.

Of the 13 gaming-equipment supplier stocks around the world tracked by the AGEM Index, 9 suppliers are based in the U.S., two constituent stocks are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, one is traded in Tokyo, and another trades on the Taipei Exchange, Taiwan’s over-the-counter market for stocks and bonds.

AGEM represents manufacturers of electronic gaming devices, systems, lotteries and components for the gaming industry. The association began compiling data for the index in January 2005 using a base of 100 points. The stocks that constitute the AGEM Index are weighted by approximate market capitalisation.