GGRAsia – Bally Technologies sees 24 pct drop in quarterly earnings

Bally Technologies sees 24 pct drop in quarterly earnings

Oct 31, 2014 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Top of the deck

Casino equipment maker Bally Technologies Inc on Thursday reported net income of US$28.8 million, or US$0.75 per diluted share, for the three months to September 30, down from US$37.8 million, or US$0.97 per diluted share, a year earlier.

That was a 23.7 percent year-on-year drop, even as the company posted record revenue for the quarter. Bally Technologies announced revenue of US$321 million for the July-September period, up 29 percent from prior year. “Gaming operations revenue set an all-time quarterly record of US$106 million,” the gaming manufacturer said. That was up from US$102 million a year earlier.

The Las Vegas-based company said it sold 4,744 gaming machine units in the three months to September 30, up by 19 percent from a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 34 percent to US$116 million as compared with US$87 million last year.

Costs for the quarter however jumped 34.3 percent year-on-year to US$258.4 million, Bally Technologies said. The firm said its operating income for the quarter was US$62.4 million, compared with US$57 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The company did not hold a conference call to discuss earnings.

“We achieved record first quarter revenue and excellent overall operational results in the quarter, driven primarily by strong electronic gaming machines and gaming operations revenue,” chief executive Richard Haddrill said in a statement accompanying the results. “With SHFL in the mix, we grew our international new-unit sales by 168 percent, further driving our global presence,” he added.

Bally Technologies acquired Nevada-based SHFL entertainment Inc in a US$1.3 billion transaction concluded in November last year. The former is now being sold to Scientific Games Corp for US$5.1 billion, including the refinancing of nearly US$1.8 billion of existing Bally Technologies net debt.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, Scientific Games said on a conference call with analysts on Thursday.