Aristocrat Leisure : Latest Annual Report

Aristocrat Leisure Limited | 2022 Annual Report

We. Love. To. Play.

Company Profile

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) is a leading global gaming content and technology company and top-tier mobile games publisher, with more than 7,500 employees in over 20 locations around the world. Aristocrat offers a diverse range of products and services

including electronic gaming machines, casino management systems and free-to-play mobile games. The company's regulated gaming products are approved for use in more than 300 licensed jurisdictions and are available in more than 100 countries.

For further information visit the Group's website at www.aristocrat.com

7,500+

employees located in

offices around the world

300+

licensed

jurisdictions

Operating in

100+

countries

A message from the Chairman and CEO

We are pleased to report that Aristocrat delivered

a high quality result for the 2022 financial year. Strong revenue and profit growth reflected our sustained investment in top-performing product portfolios, differentiating capabilities, increased operational diversification and business resilience.

A normalised Group profit result of around $1.1 billion represented an increase of 27% in reported terms, and 20% in constant currency, compared to the corresponding 2021 result.

Strong operating cash flows and superior financial fundamentals were also maintained, with a net cash position

of $564 million and liquidity of $3.8 billion as at 30 September 2022. Cash of $660 million was appropriately returned to shareholders through dividends and on-market share buy-back, in line with the Group's established capital allocation framework.

Aristocrat's performance underlines the ongoing and effective implementation of our growth strategy. Throughout the year, we continued to invest strongly in competitive product portfolios to drive further share growth across key segments. Strong performance in Aristocrat Gaming more than offset moderation in the Pixel United business, again highlighting the resilience of the combined and growing Group.

Outstanding operational performance was delivered in key Gaming segments in 2022, particularly in North America. We continued to strive to be a partner of choice to our Gaming customers, delivering a portfolio performance in the US of 1.4 times floor average - exceeding all other gaming suppliers. Our mobile publishing business, Pixel United, delivered resilient performance for the year, achieving share gains despite a challenging second half environment. This included impacts from the conflict in Ukraine, as well as a moderation in overall mobile demand, post the removal of COVID-19stay-at-home mandates.

The launch of our new business, Anaxi, and the announcement of an agreement to acquire Roxor Gaming were important steps forward in the acceleration of our 'build and buy' strategy to scale in online Real Money Gaming (RMG). Our efforts continued to focus on the North American i-Gaming segment, with organic investment in product and technology to support the development of our initial product suite. We will maintain investment behind online RMG, as a key adjacent growth opportunity, as we build and scale Anaxi over the medium-term.

Aristocrat took significant steps forward in leadership and capability during 2022, including through key appointments to the executive leadership team. Mitchell Bowen was appointed to lead Anaxi, and Hector Fernandez was promoted to succeed Mitchell as Chief Executive Officer of Aristocrat Gaming. Post period end, Sally Denby was appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately and subject to the receipt of necessary regulatory pre-approvals.

In October 2022, the Board welcomed Bill Lance as a Non-Executive Director (Elect). Bill was previously the Secretary of Commerce at the Chickasaw Nation, a major gaming operator in North America. Bill's appointment will strengthen the customer focus of our organisation as a whole. In addition, Bill's role as a Tribal leader of national standing in the US will further deepen the Board's mix of relevant skills, knowledge and experience, to support our strategic priorities.

Aristocrat also continued to execute against our ambitious Environmental, Social and Governance commitments across the year, with a disciplined focus on our most material issues. This included preparatory work to allow the Group to set a science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction target in calendar 2023. In addition, we made meaningful progress in our responsible gameplay (RG) agenda, with highlights including the launch of an Australian- first trial of cashless payment technology on gaming machines, and the rollout of proactive RG messaging, tools and information to players of our social casino games. In addition, we delivered enhanced anti-modern slavery training across the Group and achieved an above-benchmark employee engagement score for the year that places Aristocrat in the top quartile of technology companies globally.

Throughout 2022, we also continued to foster a 'People First' culture, with the launch of a number of additional initiatives to further enhance the wellbeing, engagement and development of all team members. Supporting our colleagues in Ukraine was a particular focus, and a moving demonstration of our values in action. We are continuing to build our business on a foundation of integrity and strong governance, consistent with our focus on ensuring we can deliver sustainable benefits over the long term.

Shareholders are encouraged to peruse full details in Aristocrat's 2022 sustainability disclosures, available via our Group website (www.aristocrat.com). We will continue to improve disclosures over time, in line with stakeholder feedback and our commitment to dialogue and transparency.

Our performance highlights the extraordinary resilience and commitment of our team of over 7,500 people around the world. We wish to thank each of our people for their hard work, and their care for our customers, players and other stakeholders over the period.

In summary, we are pleased to report that fiscal 2022 was a successful year for Aristocrat. As we look ahead, we believe our outstanding product portfolios, growing operational resilience and capability, along with a highly engaged team and strong culture, positions us well to maintain our momentum, despite uncertain conditions. We will of course remain fully focused on advancing the long term interests of you - our shareholders - and we thank you for your ongoing interest and support.

Yours sincerely,