Gaming firm Aristocrat's profit soars

Aristocrat Leisure has achieved strong half year profit growth on its expansion in the US and the growth of its online gaming products.

A major acquisition in the US and the growing popularity of mobile gaming have boosted poker machine supplier Aristocrat Leisure's half year profit.

Aristocrat's profit jumped by a third to $77.6 million, with revenues in Australia and the US both higher.

Its $US1.3 billion purchase in October of north America's Video Gaming Technologies was a key driver of growth, while Aristocrat said it had lifted its market share and achieved growth in digital gaming.

"Clearly, the acquisition and successful integration of VGT has been a significant factor in our performance half on half, but our results also reflect accelerating operational momentum across key markets and segments," chief executive Jamie Odell said.

Aristocrat also lifted its number of premium gaming machines in the US, while machines that allow slot machine players in different locations to compete for combined jackpots generated more income.

The company plans to roll out more of those connected machines, including titles such as Game of Thrones and Big Bang Theory.

Revenue from its digital business more than tripled as Aristocrat's Heart of Vegas games grew in popularity and were made available on iPad and iPhone.

The number of daily average users more than doubled to 716,672, and average revenue per daily user rose 75 per cent.

Aristocrat expects profit growth to continue in the second half of its fiscal year.

The company's shares were up 53 cents, or 6.7 per cent, at $8.40 at 1310 AEST.

ACQUISITION AND ONLINE GAMING BOOST ARISTOCRAT'S PROFIT

* Half year net profit of $77.6m, up 35 pct from $57.4m in 2013/14

* Revenue of $699m, up 72 pct from $406m

* Unfranked interim dividend of eight cents per share, unchanged


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Source: AAP


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