Casino Slots bringing in Millions (more) for Aristocrat Leisure

In Australia, casino slots – known locally as pokies – are big business. We Aussies love a flutter, and manufacturers are more than willing to provide us with hundreds of individually themed, multi-featured ways to do it. For one homegrown firm, expanding their horizons has proved phenomenally valuable.

Aristocrat Leisure, founded in 1953 by legendary pokies maker Lee Ainsworth, is perched proudly atop a summit of cash right now. The company issued its 2017 Half Year Media Release this week, reporting on income for the past six months ending March 31, 2017. The results were enough to make shareholders dance like sugar plum fairies at Christmas.

Net profits for the reporting period totaled AU-$272.9 million, representing an increase of 53% compared to fiscal reports from the same marking period a year ago. Overall, revenue is up 24.6% to $1.2 billion.

New CEO Credits Casino Slots Dev Team

None could possibly be more pleased with the results than Trevor Croker, the Australia casino slots firm’s recently appointed CEO. Croker was instated as the new chief executive March 1, replacing the firm’s long-time leader, Jamie Odell.

Taking control of a distinguished, global business and holding a steady uptick has to be a great feeling, but Mr. Croker took no credit for himself. He allocated responsibility for their success to the multitude of men and women who work diligently to create the games Aristocrat is so famous for.

When asked how one of the world’s largest casino slots manufacturers excelled so rapidly, Mr. Croker told Australia Financial Review, “The key part is having the best game design talent.”

Australia Casino Slots Growing Fast in US

The firm’s US-based operations are worth mentioning as well. Aristocrat hosts offices across all inhabited continents of the world, including six locations in the US alone. AFR noted the efficacy of firm’s American-based operations, where earnings (before interest and tax) are up 29.2% to $362.4 million.

Croker anticipates the US market will continue to grow 5-6% this year, pointing to their superior casino slots offerings as the reason for exponential growth in US market share.

New Casinos Contribute to Strong Performance

The new CEO was quick to warn analysts that this half of the year’s strong performance “won’t be repeated in the second half”.

Croker attributed one-off casino opening in Philippines, Malaysia and South Africa – all of which installed the company’s Australia casino slots on their gaming floors recently – to $72.5 million of the overall profit surge.

Focusing on the Digital Realm

He also confirmed that, as usual, Aristocrat will be on the lookout for opportune acquisitions in the coming year. Croker said the focus will be on the digital games market, where Aristocrat is just emerging as a competitive rival.

The Australia casino slots maker’s interactive games brought in $75.2 million in the 6-month period, a rise of 48.3% in segmented revenue. Considering the size of the online and mobile social gaming industry at present, projected to scale to $100 billion in 2017, Aristocrat has plenty of room to grow in the digital space.

Investors Share In the Wealth

Following the release of the financial report, Thursday morning trading of Aristocrat shares on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: ALL) surged. The day’s trading closed with Aristocrat up near 4% to $21.04. In the last 12 months, ALL has climbed 72.3%.