At yesterday’s Annual General Meeting in Pyrmont, NSW, Aristocrat Leisure Limited announced strong financial results for 2005 with revenue up 15% on 2004 at A$1.3 billion (US$99.8 million). Net profit after tax was A$244 million (US$187.7 million), up 72%, with each of the company’s businesses improving year-on-year trading profitability. Over the course of 2005, Aristocrat saw substantial growth in its international business, which now accounts for 75% 0f segment profit.

Revenue growth in North America, Japan and other international markets was only slightly impacted by a decline in Australia. Aristocrat’s expansion into the global gaming market to benefit from growth potential has led it to now operate in more than 200 jurisdictions worldwide. This policy is to ‘establish a strong presence in a significant number of markets to cushion overall results from fluctuations in any one particular market,’ according to MD and CEO Paul Oneile.

The policy should help alleviate this year’s expected first half decline in profits in Japan. Changes to regulations in that country mean a transition from Regulation 4 to Regulation 5 gaming, and Aristocrat aims to release a range of Regulation 5 compliant Pachislo games for the Japanese market in the second half, subject to regulatory approval. During 2005 the company sold a record 98,000 games in Japan.

Despite a difficult North American gaming market last year, for a number of reasons including higher fuel costs and Hurricane Katrina, Aristocrat profit from the region increased by 78% to A$182 million (US$140 million). This reflects the popularity of Aristocrat products, particularly Zorro, Cash Express and Millioni$er. The company is also doing well in other international markets – in Macau its market share is now around 40%.

A positive outlook for the rest of 2006 is envisioned, with further strong growth in results over 2007 and 2008. Mr Oneile concluded that Aristocrat remains ‘very well placed to capture significant share of the anticipated expansion of global gaming markets over the coming years.’ (E-05.03.06)

© Copyright 2006 CasinoCompendium



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