Global gaming giant Aristocrat Leisure Limited reported on Wednesday morning a 21% year-on-year increase in net profit after tax to AU$1.3 billion (US$846 million) for the 12 months ended 30 September 2023, boosted by “outstanding growth” in outright gaming sales and the strong performance of the North American market.
Revenue for the year grew by 13% to AU$6.3 billion (US$4.1 billion) with EBITDA rising 13.8% to AU$2.11 billion (US$1.37 billion). EBITDA margin also increased slightly to 33.4%.
The company said the strong FY23 results reflected a superior product portfolio, ongoing investment and consistent execution, notwithstanding mixed conditions across some key segments.
Gaming proved to be the standout performer, producing a 22.2% year-on-year increase in revenues to AU$3.64 billion (US$2.37 billion), although ANZ suffered a slight decline in revenue to AU$458.4 million (US$298 million).
Social gaming entity Pixel Utd saw revenues decline by 4.3% to AU$1.75 billion (US$1.14 billion) due to a broader decline in the mobile games market and Aristocrat’s decision to exit Russia in March 2022.
Aristocrat CEO and Managing Director Trevor Croker said, “The growth that Aristocrat delivered over the period demonstrates the ongoing resilience, competitiveness and diversification of our portfolio, and sound fundamentals in the markets in which we operate. At the same time, we have been able to accelerate investment behind our successful growth strategy.
“The benefit of our strategic investments to grow and diversify Aristocrat was particularly evident in the strong revenue and EBITDA growth over the year. This was underpinned by an exceptional Gaming performance which more than offset an extended industry-wide moderation in mobile game demand, again highlighting diversification and scale as fundamental strengths of our business.
“We continued to invest to grow in attractive adjacencies and verticals, as we build further resilience in our operating portfolio, including through executing our ‘build and buy’ strategy in online RMG.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to navigate challenges with a focus on portfolio performance and capturing the significant strategic opportunities in front of us, including delivering on our online RMG strategy with the proposed acquisition of NeoGames to close in the first half of calendar 2024.”