GGRAsia – Ainsworth posts US$38.7mln loss, flags 2H recovery

Ainsworth posts US$38.7mln loss, flags 2H recovery

Aug 26, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

Australia-listed slot machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd reported on Thursday a full-year loss after tax of AUD53.4 million (US$38.7 million), up from AUD50.1 million a year earlier.

The company said in a filing that the effects of Covid-19 “impacted” the group’s financial performance in the 12 months to June 30, as it recorded “one-off non-cash impairment charges” during the period. Nonetheless, the company said it saw a recovery in the second half of its financial year.

For the full financial year, Ainsworth reported a pre-tax loss of AUD59.2 million, compared to a AUD48.8-million pre-tax loss in the previous year. That form of loss in the six months to June 30, was AUD2.6 million, stated the company.

“The full-year results included AUD11.5-million currency translation losses and AUD41.7-million in one-off, non-cash impairment charges,” said the firm.

The impairment charges were related to the write down of some of the group’s asset values, due to “uncertainties and risks in forecasted cash flows” in some of the regions where it operates, including Australia and Latin America, said the company.

Excluding the effects of currency exchange and one-off items, the firm said its loss before tax for the year was AUD17.1 million, comprising a loss of AUD18.7 million for the first half, and a profit of AUD1.6 million in the second half.

Ainsworth said adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) “significantly improved” in the second half of the financial year.

The firm reported adjusted EBITDA of AUD15.5 million for the full year, compared to AUD5.8 million in the prior corresponding period. Adjusted EBITDA in the six months to June 30 was AUD14.4 million, compared to AUD1.1 million in the first half.

Ainsworth said its results for the second half of the financial year were a “significant improvement on the first half results.”

“This has followed the progression of vaccination programmes across our major markets where most customers’ venues gradually reopened, with a relaxation of previously instigated restrictions,” it added.

The group’s aggregate revenue increased to AUD159.5 million, up 7 percent year-on-year. Revenue in the second half rose 21 percent compared to the first six months of the financial year. International markets contributed AUD120.5 million in revenue for the financial year.

North America and Australia remained the company’s strongest markets in the latest financial year, according to Thursday’s filing. In Asian markets, Ainsworth also represents the interests of the Novomatic casino technology brand, which belongs to Ainsworth’s controlling shareholder, Austria-based Novomatic AG.

As of June 30, Ainsworth had a cash balance of AUD42.4 million and since then, the cash balance has further increased, it said.

In July, the slot maker received the initial US$5-million contribution from GAN Ltd, a provider of interactive Internet-delivered games, to “license Ainsworth online real money games” in the United States.