Aristocrat Upgrades First Half FY 2021 Performance

Australian slot machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure announced in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today its six month financial performance ended March 31, 2021 was upgraded.

Significant Improvements Year-Over-Year

Subject to final external auditor review and approval from the Board of Directors, Aristocrat accounted for the period normalized earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the period of AU$750 million, which compared to the period of six months ended March 31, 2020 represents 6% growth.

Normalized net profit after tax and before amortization (NPATA) came out at AU$412 million, 12% increase compared to the previous six-month period ended March 31, 2020, and excluding the impact of significant items, AU$19 million of pre-tax contingent retention arrangements related to the acquisition of Plarium, Aristocrat arrived at a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of AU$346 million.

“These results reflect the fact that we have the right strategy, and made the right choices to sustain our investment in outstanding people and product, customers, talent and culture throughout the COVID-impacted period.”

Trevor Croker, CEO and MD, Aristocrat

Gaming and Digital Driving Growth

Aristocrat noted in the filing its Gaming division produced “exceptional product performance and customer engagement”, which, paired with consumer sentiment and favorable conditions exceeding expectations in both the US and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), turned out to be the main driver for growth.

The company’s other division, Aristocrat Digital, experienced growth in bookings above the industry average, which directly translated into revenue and profit growth and contributed further to the improved financial performance compared to the respective previous six months.

“As a result, we have continued to take share and maintained our leadership of key Gaming markets and segments, while growing our share in Digital games where we are now a top 5 game publisher in tier 1 Western markets.”

Trevor Croker, CEO and MD, Aristocrat

The digital business took advantage of Aristocrat’s diverse portfolio of game titles and the investment the company made in User Acquisition (UA), Live Ops, and improvements with new game content and features.

Future Outlook

“We expect economic conditions across key markets over the full year to remain uncertain, as a result of ongoing COVID-driven volatility. We are closely monitoring key factors including consumer sentiment, gaming venue patronage and currency headwinds.”

Trevor Croker, CEO and MD, Aristocrat

Cautiously optimistic, CEO Croker outlined Aristocrat will continue on the same trajectory of pursuing its strategy by improving product offerings and top talent and expanding strategic capabilities.

“We will continue to rigorously execute our strategy over the second half of fiscal 2021, with increased investment in D&D, UA to support new game launches and existing games and strategic capabilities that will sustain our longer term growth.”

Trevor Croker, CEO and MD, Aristocrat

Aristocrat concluded the ASX filing by stating its final financial results announcement for the six months ended March 31, 2021 will be released on Monday, May 24, 2021.