Corporate News

Shuffle Master, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2010 Results

LAS VEGAS - 9 June, 2010: Shuffle Master, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: SHFL) (“Shuffle Master” or the “Company”) today announced its results for the second quarter ended April 30, 2010.

Second Quarter 2010 Financial Highlights

•Revenue of $50.8 million increased by 12%, or $5.5 million, year-over-year from $45.3 million. Adjusted for foreign exchange impact, total revenue increased 3% year-over-year.

•Total lease, royalty and service revenue was up 14% year-over-year and 4% sequentially, and totaled $23.4 million, or 46% of total revenue.

•Gross margin increased 700 basis points to 64% due largely to segment margin mix, most notably the Electronic Table Systems (“ETS”) segment.

•GAAP net income was $7.9 million and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) was $0.15, as compared to $4.4 million and $0.08 in the prior year period which includes a loss of $0.2 million and $0.1 for adopting the required retrospective application of new accounting guidance for convertible debt instruments.

•Adjusted EBITDA totaled $18.0 million, up 33% from $13.6 million year-over-year.

•Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses decreased by $2.7 million to $15.7 million, or 15% year-over-year. Excluding the $4.0 million impact of severance charges in the prior year period and normalizing for $1.1 million of foreign exchange, SG&A remained relatively flat year-over-year even on higher revenue.

•Net debt (total debt, less cash and cash equivalents) was $71.4 million as compared to $85.4 million as of October 31, 2009.

“Our second quarter showed strong year-over-year growth due to compelling drivers in our product segments such as gained momentum in our shuffler replacement cycle, the continuation of our progressive upgrade strategy, and exceptional performance in our e-Table segment,” stated Phillip C. Peckman, Chief Executive Officer. “Q2 saw the introduction of a sizable new market for Shuffle Master – Singapore – and we gained approximately $0.5 million in new lease revenue as a result.”

Second Quarter 2010 Business Segment Highlights

Utility

•Total Utility lease and service revenue was a record $10.0 million, up 8% year-over-year driven by one2six®, iDeal® and MD2® shuffler placements.

•Total Utility revenue increased 6% to $21.1 million as compared to $20.0 million year-over-year, driven by increases in shuffler leases and by increased sales of chippers and the i-Shoe Auto.

•Total leased shuffler installed base grew year-over-year by approximately 500 units to 6,062 units.

•Gross margin increased year-over-year from 60% to 61% primarily due to the increase in leased shuffler units and, to a lesser extent, increased shuffler conversions as well as reduced amortization expense associated with the one2six shuffler and Easy Chipper C™.

•Significant year-over-year placements of the iDeal shuffler with 902 units installed since the year-ago quarter; approximately 340 of those were installed in the second quarter 2010.

•The total iDeal installed base grew to approximately 1,740 units, of which approximately 60% are units on lease.

Proprietary Table Games (“PTG”)

•Total PTG lease, royalty and service revenue increased 10% year-over-year to a record $9.3 million.

•Total PTG revenue increased 15% to $10.2 million as compared to $8.9 million in the year-ago quarter primarily due to increased leases of the premium title Ultimate Texas Hold’em® and Three Card Poker Progressive®.

•Gross margin decreased year-over-year from 81% to 76% due to the write-off of certain intangible licenses and related equipment totaling approximately $0.5 million.

•Progressive upgrades of approximately 40 net placements in the second quarter remained relatively flat year-over-year.

•As of the second quarter, there were 513 total progressives. Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive™ and Three Card Poker Progressive comprised approximately 75% of all upgrades.

Electronic Table Systems

•Total ETS lease, royalty and service revenue was a record $4.0 million, up 46% year-over-year, as a result of increased Table Master® seats on lease in Florida and Rapid Table Game® seats on lease in Singapore.

•Total ETS revenue increased 117% to $12.4 million as compared to $5.7 million in the prior year period largely the result of a $4.3 million increase in sold Vegas Star® and Rapid Table Game seats to several large casinos in Australia, in addition to $1.8 million of favorable foreign exchange impact. As a result, this was the largest ETS revenue quarter in the Company’s history.

•Approximately 480 net placements of ETS seats installed in the second quarter as compared to 366 net placements in the year-ago quarter.

•Gross margin increased year-over-year from 32% to 63% primarily due to the overall mix of revenue; namely, the significant increase in sales revenue, the improvement in average sales prices and increased sales of high-margin conversion kits.

Electronic Gaming Machines (“EGM”)

•Total EGM revenue declined 34% to $7.1 million compared to the prior year period mainly due to a 50% decrease in sold units resulting from the market’s anticipation of the new Equinox cabinet release. Total EGM revenue excluding the effect of foreign exchange decreased 51%.

•Gross margin increased year-over-year from 45% to 55%, led by sales of refurbished units which typically carry higher margins than new units, higher margins on sales of new units, and lower amortization expense.

“Once again our strong operating performance, driven largely by $3.1 million in sales revenue from Singapore as well as $4.3 million in sales revenue for e-Table placements in Australia, has resulted in improved profitability,” said Linster Fox, Chief Financial Officer. “With EBITDA at 36% of revenue in the quarter, our continued strong cash flow from operations and better use of working capital have enabled further reductions of our net debt.”

Further detail and analysis of the Company's financial results for the year ended April 30, 2010, is included in its Form 10-Q, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, June 9, 2010.

Webcast & Conference Call Information

Company executives will provide additional perspective on the Company’s first quarter earnings results during a conference call on June 9, 2010 at 2 pm Pacific Time. Those interested in participating in the call may do so by dialing (201) 689-8263 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (201) 689-8263 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or toll-free (877) 407-0792 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (877) 407-0792 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and requesting Shuffle Master’s Second Quarter 2010 Conference Call. A hardcopy of the presentation materials may be printed from the Shuffle Master, Inc. website, www.shufflemaster.com, shortly before the start of the call. In conjunction with the call, a live audio webcast may be accessed at www.shufflemaster.com. In order to access the live audio webcast please allow at least 15 minutes before the start of the call to visit Shuffle Master’s website and download/install any necessary audio/video software for the webcast. Immediately following the call and through July 9, 2010, a playback can be heard 24-hours a day by dialing (201) 612-7415 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (201) 612-7415 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or toll-free (877) 660-6853 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (877) 660-6853 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; account number is 3055; conference I.D. number is 351614.

About Shuffle Master, Inc.

Shuffle Master, Inc. is a gaming supply company specializing in providing its casino customers with improved profitability, productivity and security, as well as popular and cutting-edge gaming entertainment content, through value-add products in four distinct categories: Utility products which include automatic card shuffler, roulette chip sorters and intelligent table system modules, Proprietary Table Games which include live table game tournaments, Electronic Table Systems which include various e-Table game platforms and Electronic Gaming Machines which include traditional video slot machines for select markets. The Company is included in the S&P Smallcap 600 Index. Information about the Company and its products can be found on the Internet at www.shufflemaster.com.



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