Aristocrat Leisure (ALL) H2 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Delivered 20% EPS growth and 17% NPATA growth to AUD 1.6 billion in FY24, reflecting strong operational performance, effective strategy execution, cost optimization, and share buybacks.

• Revenue grew 5% to $6.6 billion, driven by market share gains in gaming operations, robust North America performance, and stable Pixel United results.

• Returned $1.3 billion to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks.

• Completed the sale agreement for Plarium for up to $820 million and continued the strategic review of Big Fish Games, with an impairment charge of $110 million taken for Big Fish.

• Advanced sustainability initiatives, including validated decarbonization targets and a new Empowering Safer Play pillar.

Financial highlights

• NPATA increased 17% year-over-year to AUD 1.6 billion.

• Fully diluted EPS rose 20% to 226.9c–243.0c, supported by share buybacks.

• EBITDA up 19% to $2.47–$2.5 billion, with margin expansion to 37.4%.

• Total dividend per share increased 21.9%–22% to 78.0c, with a payout ratio of 34%.

• Operating cash flow remained strong at $1.77 billion; net debt at $1.1 billion with liquidity of $1.7 billion.

Outlook and guidance

• Expects NPATA growth for FY25 on a constant currency basis, driven by continued market share, revenue, and profit growth in Gaming and disciplined execution in Pixel United.

• Interactive segment targeting accelerated performance toward a $1 billion revenue goal by FY29.

• FY25 D&D investment expected at 12–13% of revenue; Pixel United UA spend guided at 21–24% of revenue.

• Ongoing focus on capital management, with buybacks to continue and no immediate change in capital returns post-Plarium sale.