According to the company’s annual financial report, published last week, the Novomatic Group achieved the highest revenues in its 36-year history.
Revenue in the past financial year reached €2,294.1m, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent. The largest increase was achieved in the area of gaming machine revenues, which rose by €126.7m to €1,028.9m.
Group EBITDA came to €588.5m (2015: €616.7m). During the year under review, the number of employees in the group grew by 18.1 per cent to a total of 23,849. The growth dynamic of the group is also demonstrated by the fact that the number of fully consolidated companies in the financial year 2016 increased to 217 (2015: 188).
“Not only did we achieve excellent financial results in 2016, but we also set out clear strategic paths that are particularly important for the further expansion of Novomatic,” said CEO Harald Neumann.
“These include the signing of an agreement to acquire approximately 53 per cent of the shares in the publicly traded Australian company Ainsworth Game Technology. Thanks to the strong presence of Ainsworth in Australia, Asia and North and South America, Novomatic will, in future, also intensify its work in these markets.”
The focus of the Novomatic Group also continued to be on further expanding its business activities in Europe. To this end, a strong signal was sent in the important British market with the acquisition of Talarius by Novomatic UK.
The company also expanded its market position in Germany, Italy and Spain by acquiring numerous smaller companies. In Austria, the acquisition of shares in Casinos Austria and Österreichische Lotterien was the focus of attention, along with the associated decision by the Cartel Court. The legal steps resulting from the acquisition of 17.19 per cent of the shares will now be completed in the forthcoming reporting year of 2017.
In order to harness growth opportunities, Novomatic also expanded its financial scope for action in the previous year, issuing a benchmark bond in September 2016 with a volume of €500m, the first such bond from an Austrian company in 2016.
The combined group revenue of Novomatic, as well as the two Swiss sister holding companies ACE Casino Holding and Gryphon Invest, also reached a new high in 2016 at €4,402m (2015: €3,929m). Together, the companies in question employ around 29,000 employees worldwide, of which approximately 3,300 are located in Austria.
