The AGEM Index for December rose to 546.04 points, 1.0 percent up on the prior month, showed a written statement released on Tuesday. The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) said the index of stock prices for major publicly-listed makers of gaming equipment was 35.7 percent higher than a year earlier.
AGEM produces the monthly AGEM Index, in association with research firm Applied Analysis LLC.
AGEM said December’s index growth was largely driven by a 7.30 points contribution from Australia-listed slot machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. “A stronger Australian dollar accounted for Aristocrat’s index gain as the company’s stock price declined slightly” month-on-month, said AGEM in Tuesday’s release.
Crane Co, a United States-based industrial products conglomerate that sells payment processing technology to the financial sector including casinos, experienced a 4.0 percent stock price gain in December from the prior month. It led to an index contribution of a positive 3.28 points.
Two major stock indices – the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 – experienced sequential monthly growth during December of 1.7 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. “The NASDAQ also experienced a strong gain of 3.5 percent,” noted the trade body.
Of the 13 gaming-equipment supplier stocks around the world tracked by the AGEM Index, five saw year-on-year gains in December and eight saw year-on-year declines. Judged year-on-year, nine firms saw a positive trend in stock performance, and four experienced a negative trend.
Nine suppliers are included in the index 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.
