Las Vegas slot machine manufacturer Anchor Gaming beats estimates

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

Anchor Gaming Inc. of Las Vegas on Wednesday reported net income before one-time charges of 83 cents per share for the quarter ending Dec. 31, handily beating analyst expectations for the quarter.

Net income per share, before one-time charges, was up 34 percent from the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected earnings of 75 cents per share.

Though up in earnings per share, Anchor's net income fell 11 percent to $13.6 million before the one-time charges. Earnings per share increased because of a 33 percent reduction in shares outstanding since the year-ago quarter.

Actual earnings per share, however, were reduced by $1.5 million in charges related to the purchase of 9.2 million shares from former Chairman Stanley Fulton and family members, and a $7 million after-tax net loss on the sale of its racetrack assets to Fulton. After these charges, Anchor earned $5.2 million, or 32 cents per diluted share.

Company revenues rose less than 1 percent to $131.3 million, while cash flow increased 15 percent to $50.9 million.

The largest revenue increase came from its slot machine segment, which rose 26 percent to $45.9 million. Revenues from the company's casino and slot route operations, however, fell 4 percent to $44.3 million, while revenue from the sale of equipment and systems to lotteries and pari-mutuel organizations fell dropped 14 percent to $41.1 million.

Anchor Chief Executive T.J. Matthews said he expects Anchor's slot machine business to be a "market leader and major driver of EPS growth" in the quarter ending March 31, with an expected "increase (in) the placement of our various games in many jurisdictions."