By Mike Cherney


SYDNEY--Australia-based slots and gaming company Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. said statutory net profit rose nearly 16% in the 2022 fiscal year, reflecting strong performance in North American gaming-machine operations and global sales.

The company said statutory net profit was 948.5 million Australian dollars (US$641 million). Normalized net profit, which strips out significant items, and before the amortization of acquired intangibles, or NPATA, rose 27% to A$1.1 billion. Overall, revenue rose nearly 18% to about A$5.6 billion.

Aristocrat declared a final dividend of 26 Australian cents per share. That brings the full-year dividend to 52 Australian cents, up 27%.

Chief Executive Trevor Croker said strong performance in its gaming unit, which includes traditional slot machines, more than offset headwinds against its mobile-gaming business Pixel United, which had benefited from coronavirus lockdowns when consumers were stuck at home.

"This highlights the strength of our post-Covid recovery and our ability to execute in a challenging environment," said Mr. Croker, adding that one measure of annual profit was 23%higher than the pre-Covid 2019 financial year.

Mr. Croker said the company had made further progress in its buy-and-build strategy to scale in online real-money gaming, and that the company would focus first on the North American market while ultimately aiming to be the leading gaming platform globally. He said Aristocrat would continue to invest in real-money gaming business Anaxi.

Also looking ahead, Aristocrat said it expects to deliver NPATA growth in the 2023 fiscal year, assuming no change in economic and industry conditions. The company expects continued strong revenue and profit growth in its gaming business, but lower growth in bookings and profit at Pixel United compared to recent years.


Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-15-22 1741ET