Aristocrat sees first half profit up 15-20%

Aristocrat said this week that it expected net profit for the six months to the end of June of us$ 100- us$ 104 million, up 15-20 percent on us$ 86.8 million in the same period last year.

"It was a little bit lower than what we had. I think the full-year Japan result will end up defining where it is going to be. This is more of a short-term issue," Commonwealth Securities analyst Craig Shepherd said. At like-for-like exchange rates, the underlying profit increase would be about 30 percent, the company said in a statement.

Aristocrat said it was well placed to capitalise on new gaming industry regulations in Japan, which come into full effect in mid-2007, though tough competition and uncertainty over player and operator acceptance of the new regulations made the level and timing of unit sales difficult to forecast.

Growth in the rapidly expanding markets of Europe, South Africa and Asia, in particular Macau, will also boost first-half and full-year results. "I am confident the outlook for the full year remains positive, although contingent on a number of near-term uncertainties," CEO Paul Oneile said.

Aristocrat cautioned that trading in Australia was likely to be soft as venues divert capital expenditure to prepare for smoking bans. The strength of the Australian dollar would also have an adverse impact on results.