Austrian gaming technology company Novomatic has proudly revealed the excellent semi-annual results.
During the first six months of the year, Novomatic achieved record-breaking sales figures, while the number of employees reached an all-time high.
Figures Going Up
The company's sales figures recorded a year-on-year increase of 11.3% to €1,218.7 million. This jump was mainly achieved due to a substantial increase in the number of electronic slot machines operated on a global level.
The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization during the half-year period reached €282.5 million, which is a 1.6% drop when compared to the last year's numbers.
Another increase was recorded when it comes to the number of self-operated websites around the world. The number of these sites, which include casinos, sports betting and bingo operations, increased by 16.7% to 2,100.
The company can be satisfied with the increase in the number of operated gaming machines, which went up by 9,000 units to a total of 70,700.
26,336 people are currently employed by Novomatic, around 2,500 employees more than at the end of 2016.
New Acquisitions
Such a substantial growth was further driven by new acquisitions made in some of the company's core markets. German Casino Royal Group and Spanish Basque Gaming are the biggest acquisitions made during this period, with other smaller acquisitions made in Italy and the Netherlands.
The company spent €115.4 million on the acquisitions made in the first six months of 2017. Nearly 40% of that amount, or €44 million, were used for the purchase of the German slots hall operator Casino Royal.
Novomatic also acquired the majority interests in four Polish companies, in a move worth €39.8 million.
Novomatic Chief Executive Officer, Harald Neumann said these future-oriented investments would ensure the company's strong position in the global market for years to come.
Neumann expressed his satisfaction with the results, which according to him only further demonstrated the company was on the right track.
He added the current international growth strategy had produced excellent results.
About Novomatic
Austrian company was founded back in 1980 and today is one of the leading names in the gaming industry.
Novomatic has offices in 50 countries around the world and exports its gaming equipment, system solutions, lottery system solutions and services to 70 markets.
With the last year's turnover of €2.3 billion, the company is undisputed ruler of the European gaming market.
