NOVOMATIC continues its international growth strategy

Subtitle: The NOVOMATIC Group continues to expand and for the first time ever achieves combined revenues of more than 4 billion EUR

Gumpoldskirchen, 10 February 2017 (OTS) – According to preliminary calculations, the NOVOMATIC Group will, for the first time ever, post combined revenues of more than 4 billion EUR for fiscal year 2016. This revenue growth was mainly achieved in the core markets of Great Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy.

In 2017, the technology group will focus on expanding its market position, particularly in South America, the US, Australia and Asia. The acquisition of a majority stake in the Australian company Ainsworth Game Technology offers an important lever for the development of these markets. NOVOMATIC and Ainsworth have been working together to complete this merger since receiving approval of the minority shareholders in June 2016. NOVOMATIC CEO Harald Neumann is looking forward to the future collaboration: “In this short time, we have already made significant progress and begun the strategic planning process for our joint future after NOVOMATIC becomes Ainsworth’s majority shareholder.” In February, Ainsworth will appoint Mr. Neumann as “Non-Executive Member of the Board”. Both companies are currently in the process of obtaining the approval of various gaming authorities required for the completion of the acquisition.

NOVOMATIC is also very pleased with its development as a technology supplier. The company recently entered into a five-year contract with the Greek lottery company OPAP (as of February 2017, the Sazka Group, a Czech consortium that also holds a share in Casinos Austria AG, is OPAP’s majority shareholder with a stake of 33 percent). With revenues of more than 1.4 billion EUR in 2015, OPAP is the leading gaming company in Greece and Europe's fifth largest lottery operator. Starting in 2018, NOVOMATIC will be providing its innovative and secure Omni-channel platform for all OPAP lottery games.

The British competition authority CMA (Competition Markets Authority) recently gave the green light for the acquisition of the English company Talarius. With this acquisition, NOVOMATIC is now the largest operator in the segment of adult gaming centers in the UK.

According to Mr. Neumann, preliminary calculations indicate that in fiscal year 2016, Gumpoldskirchen-based NOVOMATIC AG was able to outpace the previous year’s record results by another 10 percent to reach a total of approximately 2.3 billion EUR. The combined Group revenues, including the two Swiss sister holding companies Gryphon Invest AG and ACE Casino Holding AG, is expected to increase to 4.4 billion EUR. The NOVOMATIC Group, furthermore, had 28,974 employees worldwide at the end of 2016 – an increase of approximately 15 percent over the previous year.

As Europe’s leading gaming technology group, NOVOMATIC once again wowed visitors this year with the largest stand at ICE Totally Gaming, the most important international gaming exhibition, held  February 7-9 in London. On a surface area of approximately 4,700 m², a total of 25 group companies presented the NOVOMATIC Group’s comprehensive product portfolio. The offer at the NOVOMATIC exhibition ranged from casino equipment, systems and cash management solutions to arcade and pub products and sports betting, lotteries and online, mobile and social gaming.

“With this trade show appearance, NOVOMATIC once again proves that as a full-service provider we are among the world’s leading gaming technology groups,” added Mr. Neumann at a press conference at the ICE event in London.

About NOVOMATIC

The NOVOMATIC Group is one of the biggest international producers and operators of gaming technologies and employs around 29,000 staff worldwide. Founded by entrepreneur Professor Johann F. Graf in 1980, the Group has locations in more than 50 countries and exports high-tech electronic gaming equipment and solutions to 80 countries. The Group operates more than 260,000 gaming terminals in its some 1,800 plus gaming operations as well as via rental concepts.

Through its numerous international subsidiaries the NOVOMATIC Group is fully active in all segments of the gaming industry and thus offers a diversified omni-channel product portfolio to its partners and clients around the world. This product range includes land based gaming products and services, management systems and cash management, online/mobile and social gaming solutions as well as lottery and sports betting solutions together with a range of sophisticated ancillary products and services.