Aristocrat Leisure Raises Dividend After Fiscal Year Profit Jumps 53% — Update
By Stuart Condie
SYDNEY--Australian gaming company Aristocrat Leisure lifted its annual profit 53% and raised its final dividend following a strong performance in its slot-machine business.
The ASX-listed company on Wednesday reported a net profit for the 12 months through September of 1.45 billion Australian dollars (US$924.8 million), compared with A$948.5 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 13% to A$6.30 billion.
Stripping out one-off items, normalized net profit rose 21% to A$1.33 billion.
The average analyst forecast had been for a normalized net profit of A$1.29 billion from revenue of A$6.22 billion, according to data compiled by FactSet.
Aristocrat raised its final dividend to A$0.34, from A$0.26 last year.
"The growth that Aristocrat delivered over the period demonstrates the ongoing resilience, competitiveness and diversification of our portfolio," Chief Executive Trevor Croker said. "At the same time, we have been able to accelerate investment behind our successful growth strategy."
The company called out execution in North America as a key driver of its result, alongside what it called a high-performing gaming portfolio. Outright slots sales in North America rose 26% on year.
Aristocrat said its mobile-games division, Pixel United, delivered a resilient performance against the backdrop of a 5% decline in the global games market. Its real-money online gaming business, Anaxi, had signed agreements with partners in over 80% of the U.S. iGaming market.
It anticipates further growth in normalized net profit in fiscal 2024, when it expects to complete the previously announced US$1.2 billion acquisition of Nasdaq-listed NeoGames, funding the transaction from existing cash reserves. It expects the transaction to be earnings-per-share accretive from fiscal 2025, once amortization of acquired intangibles is stripped out.
Analysts have said the acquisition of NeoGames and its so-called iGaming technology gives Aristocrat options for tapping the fast-growing U.S. online gaming market.
Aristocrat said it expect continued strong market share, revenue growth and profit growth from its gaming unit, although it warned of possible moderation in consumer spending in its key markets.
Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 14, 2023 17:07 ET (22:07 GMT)
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