Bally Slots Reports Profits Despite US Economy

Written by Michael W. | Friday, November 7th, 2008

Despite an economic downturn, casinos seem to be spending their money on new slot machines as evidenced by Bally Technologies report of growth in both profits and revenues in the recently completed first quarter.

The slot machine provider based in Las Vegas said Thursday its net income was $30.3 million or 52 cents a share, for the first quarter which ended September 30. Those earnings were up from a year earlier when they reported a net income of $21.3 million or 37 cents a share.

A poll of analysts had predicted earnings of only 49 cents a share for Bally Technologies. Revenues also benefited seeing a rise of 25.6 percent to 237.4 million, up from $189 million.

“The continued momentum in all of our technology businesses drove first-quarter earnings. Despite challenging economic and capital market conditions, we continue to grow our businesses through innovation and execution, which are driving market-share gains.” Bally Chief Executive Officer Richard Haddrill said in a statement.

Bally shipped 6,598 new slot machines during the quarter, a 28 percent increase from a year ago bumping revenues to $107 million, an increase of 33 percent.

Bally opted to announce its earnings after the stock markets closed on Thursday when shares of the company ended at $21.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Morgan Joseph gaming analyst Justin Sebastiano estimated that Bally’s share of the domestic slot machine market had been somewhere in the low teens but in light of the new earnings could be nearly 20 to 25 percent this quarter.

“The company has been known for its strength in the stepper (mechanical reel) market but it has made significant gains on the video side of the business on both the domestic and international fronts,” Sebastiano said.

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