Weak Australian sales and a tough first half of the financial year contributed to a 1% fall in revenue and 6% decline in normalized profit for Australian slot machine manufacturer Ainsworth Game Technology in FY17.
Announcing its results for the 12 months through 30 June 2017 on Tuesday, Ainsworth said its best results were achieved internationally – which accounted for 74% of all revenue – with Latin America and the “Rest of the World” segments leading the way.
The Rest of the World, which includes Asia, was boosted by the clout of Ainsworth’s partnership with Novomatic, whose sales contribution saw revenue increase 54% to AU$28.1 million.
“This strong result was primarily attributable to sales contributions from Asia and Europe, product distribution opportunities with Novomatic AG adding AU$11.4 million in sales and AU$5.5 million in profit,” the company said.
Australian revenue fell 9% year-on-year to AU$74.1 million, comprising 26% of total revenue. It included a 17% fall in profit despite the six months through 30 June seeing a significant upturn with sales up 6% year-on-year and profits increasing 15%.
Group-wide, Ainsworth’s underlying EBITDA for FY17 fell 12% to AU$84.1 million while earnings per share fell from AU$0.17 to AU$0.12.
However, group sales were 30% higher in the second half of the year than in 1H and up 11% year-on-year, with international markets showing a 55% sequential increase and 12% year-on-year.
“Our impressive second half performance begins to reflect the competitiveness of our broader product offering, our investments in technology, sales and marketing, and the strength of our international footprint,” said Ainsworth CEO Danny Gladstone.
“We continue to expand on strategies to broaden and diversify product offerings in established and new markets. With the introduction of new technologies and an increased range of innovative content, we expect to progressively grow market share and profitability across international and domestic markets.”
