Gaming giant Aristocrat has reported a 20% EBITDA increase to AU$1.85 billion ($1.25 billion) and a 13.9% increase in net profit to AU$1.05 billion ($710 million) for the fiscal year ended September 30. The results were driven by a 17.7% increase in revenue to AU$5.57 billion ($3.77 billion), with the company highlighting strong growth in a number of segments.
The business pointed out an “exceptional performance” in North American gaming operations and global outright sales, despite supply chain disruptions and mixed operating conditions across key markets. Revenue in the Americas was up 32.3% to AU$2.42 billion ($1.64 billion), while in Australia and New Zealand it hiked by 15.2% to AU$460.7 million ($311 million).
“Aristocrat delivered a high-quality result, with strong revenue and profit growth reflecting sustained investment in top-performing product portfolios, differentiating capabilities, increased operational diversification and business resilience,” the company said in a statement. CEO and Managing Director Trevor Croker stated the performance underlines the “ongoing implementation” of Aristocrat’s growth strategy.
“Throughout the year, we continued to invest in competitive product portfolios to drive further share growth across key segments, greater operational diversification and deeper business capability,” he added. “Aristocrat delivered an increase in revenues of almost 18% year on year, and an annual profit of AU$1.1 billion that exceeded our 2019 financial year performance by approximately 23%.”
Aristocrat's booth at G2E 2022
Strong performance in Aristocrat Gaming offset headwinds in Pixel United, as overall mobile bookings moderated post COVID-driven peaks in the previous comparable period. Additionally, Aristocrat moved to cease operating its mobile games in Russia after it invaded Ukraine this year. Russia has historically contributed about 3% of Pixel United bookings.
The company also made further progress in its ‘build and buy’ strategy to scale in online RMG, with the launch of a new business, Anaxi. “While we are focusing first on the North American iGaming vertical, we ultimately aim to be the leading gaming platform within the global online RMG industry,” explained Croker. “We will continue to invest behind this key adjacent growth opportunity as we build Anaxi over the medium term.”
“Our performance highlights the incredible resilience and commitment of our team of over 7,500 people around the world,” the CEO added. “As we look ahead, we believe that Aristocrat’s outstanding product portfolios, growing operational resilience and capability, along with a highly engaged team and strong culture, positions us well to maintain our momentum despite uncertain conditions.”
However, the shares of Australia’s biggest gambling company fell by more than 5% on Wednesday. While the results were positive, with general growth across verticals, the business flagged lower earnings and an underwhelming dividend due to hampered online revenue and its withdrawal from Russia’s lucrative gambling market, reports The Age.
Shareholders will be paid a fully franked dividend of 26 cents on December 16, below consensus expectations of 31 cents. Jefferies analyst Simon Thackray issued a hold rating on the stock and lowered its 12-month price target by 9%, significantly lower than the majority of other analysts.
