Slot maker Ainsworth expects modest profit in fiscal 2H

May 18, 2021 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News  

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Australia-listed slot machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd said in a Tuesday filing that it expected to have a pre-tax profit of circa AUD1 million (US$780,000) for the six months to June 30, the second half of its financial year.

The firm said “ongoing improvements in overall market conditions” notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, had helped the group to “achieve improved revenue,” with the expectation of a return to profitability.

The anticipated pre-tax profit excluded “currency translation movements and one-off items,” including a gain of AUD3.3 million resulting from a March sale of a surplus parcel of land at the group’s facility in Nevada in the United States.

Excluding those items, group underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for financial year 2021 were likely to be “approximately AUD19 million”, with AUD13.2 million of that in the second half, an increase of 128 percent on the AUD5.8 million reported for the first half of the financial year 2021.

In August, Ainsworth Game reported a 12-month loss to June 30, amounting to AUD43.4 million, compared to a prior-year profit of AUD10.9 million.

In Asian markets, Ainsworth Game also represents the interests of the Novomatic casino technology brand, belonging to Ainsworth Game’s controlling shareholder, Austria-based Novomatic AG.

Additionally, in its Tuesday update to the Australian Securities Exchange, Ainsworth Game said it had made a five-year deal with a firm called GAN Ltd, a provider of interactive Internet-delivered games, to “license Ainsworth online real money games” in the U.S.

Ainsworth Game said that under the arrangement, it would supply GAN with “exclusive online rights” to 79 slot titles, including the “QuickSpin” brand of wheel games, and “proven top-performing high-denomination titles”.

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