Aristocrat CEO declares firm will pursue M&A igaming targets after strong H1 display
The Sydney-based supplier’s boss, Trevor Croker, has made clear his intentions to continue with inorganic growth plan after $1.2bn move for NeoGames completed last month
Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker has confirmed the supplier has identified further opportunities to land M&A targets after closing the $1.2bn deal to acquire NeoGames last month.
Following the acquisition of NeoGames, Aristocrat announced its plans to merge the business with Anaxi, its real-money gaming division, in turn creating Aristocrat Interactive.
Ex-NeoGames CEO Moti Malul is spearheading the interactive arm as CEO and, despite the mammoth task of integrating the business into the wider Aristocrat umbrella, Croker confirmed the Sydney-based firm remained on the hunt for M&A targets.
Croker said Aristocrat continues to view “inorganic investment as a great way to accelerate growth” as he noted there were acquisition opportunities for the interactive arm, as well as the firm’s social gaming and land-based verticals, too.
Speaking on Aristocrat’s H1 analyst call, the CEO explained: “As far as actual M&A targets go, we do see that there are M&A targets in gaming and igaming and in the social casino business and we’ll continue to pursue those and monitor those consistent with our strategy.
“It’s a case of what is the right priority. I think at the moment, we’re very excited by the opportunities in gaming, particularly with the consolidation going on by our competitors, and that will free up the opportunity to take more share and for us to be more competitive,” he added.
Croker went on to say that Aristocrat is “disciplined” when it comes to landing M&A targets, adding: “We have a disciplined approach to M&A, and we continue to be in the flow on targeted basis of what we’re looking to achieve against our strategy.”
During H1, and as detailed in the company’s accompanying report, the Aristocrat Interactive arm generated revenue of A$109m, representing a 52.2% year-on-year (YoY) rise from the A$72m recorded within the same six-month period leading up to March 2023.
This rise has been attributed to a surge in customer experience services revenue growth, as well as continuous scaling of igaming in North America and Europe.
Launches with major operators in key markets such as the US, Canada and UK also played a significant role.
Aristocrat Interactive’s total profit generated a significant 215% YoY rise to A$30.3m, increasing from A$9.6m 12 months prior. EBITDA sored in comparison to last year’s figure of $6.6m, with H1 2024’s total climbing to $20.4m.
Total group revenue for the business landed at A$3.3bn, up from A$3.1bn in H1 2023, with EBITDA amounting to A$1.2bn up from $1bn.
Following the release of the H1 2024 results, Aristocrat shares rose 12.3% to A$45.75, at the time of writing.