Aristocrat Leisure expects to report us$ 80 million writedown for the first half

With the charge, Aristocrat will report an after-tax loss of $ 33.2 million for the six-month period ended June 30. Without it, the company's after-tax profits are expected to be about $ 44.2 million. That falls within the company's $ 35.4 million $ 45.4 million operating earnings guidance range.

A company spokesman said shareholders should be "quite satisfied" that operating profits were still in line with expectations. The stock, however, was down 1.6 % to $ 4.33 on the news, compared with a 1.3 % gain for the broader market.

Dividends would not be affected by the writedowns, the spokesman said. Aristocrat is in the process of turning its business around and contending with a struggling global gaming industry. The company's stock has struggled to break out of a slump it entered last year when it fell from $ 7.40 in late September to trade between $ 3 and $ 4.60 ever since.

Chief executive Jamie Odell unveiled a new management team last month and said the group was charged with figuring out how Aristocrat should focus its business. Among the changes was the departure of the company's chief financial officer. Odell was tapped to join Aristocrat at the end of last year.

Management is expected to announce the results of its global strategic review late this month. A company spokesman said there were no plans to reconsider Aristocrat's investments in the two companies on which it was booking charges against.