Casino supplier Bally Technologies Inc. of Las Vegas on Thursday said business boomed during the quarter ended March 31, with revenue up 20 percent on a year-to-year basis to $229 million.
The company, which makes slot machines and casino management systems, said that for its third fiscal quarter, it earned $30 million, or 67 cents per share, up from $23.8 million or 43 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Bally said revenue from sales of gaming equipment increased 24 percent to $79 million, thanks to sales of more machines and an increase in the average selling price. The average unit sold for $17,073, up 10 percent, the company said. Bally sold 4,147 machines in the quarter, up from 3,417 in the 2011 quarter.
Revenue from gaming operations increased 16 percent to a quarterly record of $93 million, Bally said. Systems revenue increased 20 percent to $57 million.
Gaming operations includes machines that are leased to casinos as well as progressive jackpot systems like Betty Boop Love Meter. That’s one of the company’s wide-area progressive games in which slot machines at multiple locations are linked together.
This business grew during the quarter, thanks to the company’s new Grease-themed wide-area progressive system, Bally said.
Revenue per day from the wide-area progressive units topped $100 during the quarter, Bally said.
The company said in October it was launching a new Interactive Division, but its results weren’t highlighted in Thursday’s earnings report.
Rather, the company pointed out it had purchased $54 million of its own stock since December and that it has another $57 million available for share repurchases. Share purchases, in essence a company investing in itself, help drive increases in earnings per share by reducing the number of shares outstanding.
“Our third quarter financial and operating results are showing the payoffs from multiple investments as we execute on our growth initiatives,” CEO Richard Haddrill said in a statement.