Powered by its single-highest quarterly sales figures for electronic gaming machines, casino equipment provider AGS reversed a third quarter net loss from a year ago and grew company revenue almost 34 percent.
Las Vegas-based AGS, which went public earlier this year, said cash flow grew 14 percent in the quarter, which was helped by expansion into the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario and garnering a “meaningful share” table game placements at MGM Springfield in Massachusetts.
“2018 is almost in the books and I am very proud of the team for delivering such strong results in our first year as a public company, AGS CEO David Lopez said the company’s third quarter conference call. He said the company is poised to continue the momentum in 2019, through a recently approved automated card shuffler product, a new license to operate in Pennsylvania and continued international expansion.
“AGS is still very underrepresented in many markets both domestically and internationally, which presents significant long-term growth opportunities for the company,” Lopez said.
In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, AGS said its total revenue was $75.5 million, an increase of $19.1 million.
Net income was $4.3 million in the quarter and the company had earnings per share of 12 cents. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 3 cents per share.
“AGS is one of few stocks we cover today that can drive growth with little to no help from the broader gaming climate,” Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli told investors.
During the quarter, AGS sold 1,332 electronic gaming machines, most ever in the company’s history.
Lopez said the company sold games to 60 different casino operators in 19 states and several Canadian provinces.
“This quarter marked our entry into Alberta, Canada, as well as solid progress in other Canadian provinces such as Ontario,” Lopez said. “Overall, 24 percent of third quarter sold units came from Canada. Corporate orders comprised approximately 50 percent of (electronic gaming machine) sales revenue in the quarter.”
Lopez added the company sold 276 games “to one large tribal customer who historically purchases in the third quarter of each year.”
Shares of AGS closed at $24 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, up $1.03 or 4.48 percent. The company’s stock price rose 1.5 percent in after-hours trading.
“AGS reported a very good third quarter, with (cash flow) slightly ahead, and revenues 9 percent ahead,” said Credit Suisse gaming analyst Cameron McKnight. “In our view, revenue trends carry the most weight and AGS’s results confirmed the business continues to grow strongly, take share, and remains on a deleverage path.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
