GGRAsia – First half profit to beat market expectations: Aristocrat

First half profit to beat market expectations: Aristocrat

May 13, 2016 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Top of the deck

Australian casino supplier Aristocrat Leisure Ltd expects to report net profit after tax before amortisation of acquired intangibles – referred to by the company as NPATA – amounting to around AUD183 million (US$133.9 million) for the six months ended March 31.

The period refers to the firm’s 2016 fiscal year first half.

“This result is well ahead of market expectations, and represents an increase of approximately 66 percent on the normalised NPATA reported in the prior corresponding period,” the firm said in a trading update released on Thursday.

“Aristocrat delivered outstanding results over the first half of fiscal 2016,” company chief executive Jamie Odell said in a statement included in the trading update.

Mr Odell added: “Our focus on growing share and profitability by investing in compelling product portfolios, targeted to priority segments and supported by improving execution, is delivering tangible and sustained results, despite generally flat and highly competitive market conditions.”

Aristocrat said it expected to record “moderate growth across key North American segments” and “further growth” in the online segment during the six months until September 30.

The firm added: “NPATA over the second half of the 2016 fiscal year is expected to be broadly in line with the first half, maintaining our established trajectory of full year profit growth.”

Aristocrat reported normalised NAPTA of AUD236.1 million for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2015, compared to AUD132.0 million in the previous year.

J.P. Morgan Securities Australia Ltd said in a March report Aristocrat was “well positioned for growth” in markets in the United States this year. According to the results of an annual U.S. slot market survey by J.P. Morgan quoted in the report, the number of U.S. casino managers reporting Aristocrat as the number one performing manufacturer had grown from 10 percent in 2013 to 66 percent in 2016.

Aristocrat stated it planned to release its results for the six months ended March 31 on May 26.