Aristocrat’s Strong FY Report Highlights $915M in Shareholder Returns

Australian gaming manufacturer Aristocrat has published its financial results for the fiscal year, reporting strong performance in the second half of the year. Thanks to that, the company returned AUD 1.4 billion ($915M) to shareholders.

Aristocrat Recorded Double-Digit Growth Across Key Metrics

In its report, Aristocrat highlighted revenue of AUD 6.3 billion ($4.1 billion), up 11% year-on-year. The company attributed its favorable results to its robust portfolio, continued investment in organic growth, and share gains.

Aristocrat also reported segment profit of AUD 3.2 billion ($2.1 billion), up 12% year-on-year. This was thanks to the company’s disciplined cost management and effective execution of its strategy.

Aristocrat also posted NPATA of AUD 1.6 billion ($1.05 billion), up 12% year-on-year, due to strong operating performance and the inclusion of NeoGames.

The report also outlined EBITDA of AUD 2.6 billion ($1.7 billion) for the period, marking an increase of 15.6% year-on-year. The company’s EBITDA margin increased slightly to 41.7%. The EBITDA results reflected margin expansion across the group from a favorable mix and improved operating leverage, Aristocrat said.

Aristocrat’s report also reported earnings per share of $2.265 ($1.47) (fully diluted). This was equivalent to an increase of 11.6% year-on-year.

The company also reported operating cash flow of AUD 1.9 billion ($1.2 billion) for the period, up 9.5% year-on-year. Its net debt for the period was AUD 423.3 million ($276.6 million).

Aristocrat’s CEO Highlighted the Group’s Achievements

Aristocrat’s chief executive officer and managing director, Trevor Croker, was pleased with the strong performance and double-digit growth across many key metrics. According to him, this achievement highlighted the quality of Aristocrat’s portfolio.

Croker listed some of Aristocrat’s achievements, which included the continued streamlining of its portfolio. These efforts saw the company divest Plarium and Big Fish Games, allowing the company to focus its Product Madness mobile operations purely on social casino.

Croker added that Aristocrat continued to invest in technology and product improvements. In addition to that, the company continued to set up the Aristocrat Interactive division for further growth. At the same time, the company remained committed to high standards of safer gaming and protecting players from harm.

Croker highlighted the fact that Aristocrat managed to return a staggering AUD 1.4 billion to its shareholders via a mix of dividends and on-market share buybacks. Croker said that these initiatives were consistent with the group’s capital allocation framework.

Looking ahead, we continue to see strong momentum in our business as we align our portfolio to capture the significant strategic opportunities in front of us. We remain committed to our capital management strategy and our ongoing on-market share buy-back program.

Trevok Croker, CEO & MD, Aristocrat

In other news, Aristocrat recently secured a key discovery ruling in its legal battle against Light & Wonder.