GGRAsia – Aristocrat flags growth in land based, no virus impact

Aristocrat flags growth in land based, no virus impact

Feb 20, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

Slot machine maker and digital games provider Aristocrat Leisure Ltd says it expects to see expansion across the firm’s total gaming operations installed base in financial year 2020, following “high-quality” growth in the previous year.

So said its chief executive Trevor Croker in a prepared commentary to shareholders for the firm’s annual general meeting held in New South Wales, Australia on Thursday.

Mr Croker said additionally that the company expected “further incremental gains” in unit sales to land-based casinos. “We expect to maintain market-leading share positions across key for sale segments globally,” he added.

The Australia-based gaming manufacturer reported in November net profit after tax and amortisation for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019 up 28.2 percent year-on-year, on revenue up 25.3 percent. Such profit was AUD840.4 million (US$558.9 million), while revenue for fiscal 2019 reached nearly AUD4.40 billion.

Aristocrat’s CEO noted in his address to shareholders that in financial year 2019, the international segment – including casino slot machines supplied in Macau and other Asia-Pacific markets – had seen challenging trading conditions.

Mr Croker stated: “International Class III revenue and profit decreased 7 percent and 13 percent respectively to AUD195 million and AUD90 million compared to fiscal 2018. A decline in Asia Pacific was partly offset by further growth in EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa], with the recurring revenue installed base in this region growing almost 23 percent over the 12 months to 30 September 2019.”

He added: “In Asia-Pacific, Helix+ continued to be the primary for-sale cabinet, with key titles propelling strong underlying performance across the region.”

Aristocrat’s CEO said also the company expected “further growth” in its digital segment, “supported by scaling of recently-released new games”.

In Thursday’s speech, Mr Croker also mentioned the efforts across Asia to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus Covid-19, saying the company did not expect “any material adverse impacts” on its operations.

“Aristocrat has no direct operations in mainland China, and relatively small exposure to the Asian region generally. However, we have been closely monitoring developments with a focus on our people, customers and supply chain,” said the executive.

He added: “We have temporarily suspended travel in the region, and are supporting our staff in Macau and Hong Kong. We are also proactively monitoring and managing potential supply chain impacts. At this stage we do not foresee any material adverse impacts on our business, but we will keep the market updated as appropriate.”