12 August 2003 15:44
Aristocrat says will continue to pursue business in Sth America
SYDNEY, Aug 12 AAP - Aristocrat Leisure Ltd today said it would continue to pursue business in South America, despite
being stung by a failed Colombian contract. Aristocrat acting chief executive officer David Creary said was a very big
place and that the gaming sector world-wide was "exploding". "It is a big playing field and I think it
would be neglectful of a company such as Aristocrat or any other major manufacturer to exclude any regulated region
throughout the world," Mr Creary said. "We will be exploring opportunities in a responsible manner globally,
whether it's South America, Russia or North America." Aristocrat today recorded its first net loss since
listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1996. It reported a net loss of $32.887 million for the six months to June
30, 2003, compared with a profit of $41.618 million in the same period a year earlier. The result comes just one week
after the troubled poker machine maker said it had settled its Colombian contract dispute, paying $US3.5 million ($A5.43
million). The dispute, believed to have involved entities associated with Colombian casino operator Carlos Quintero, was
first made public in April when Aristocrat posted the first of a number of profit warnings. Aristocrat has since made
further profit downgrades in relation to the difficult South American contract and poor performance by its United States
operations. Aristocrat said last week that the original contract had been for the sale of 3000 Mark V machines in kit
form and that 1680 cabinets from the kits had been recovered. It also said then that the remaining 647 machines would be
assembled by the customer with assistance from Aristocrat and retained by the customer for use in its business. The
troubled Colombian contract is one of a number of matters connected to court action taken by Aristocrat against former
chief executive officer Des Randall. In documents lodged in the NSW Supreme court at the end of last month, Aristocrat
claims Mr Randall was directly responsible for the loss of the Colombian contract. The company said in the documents
that by causing or allowing the machines to be shipped overseas without payment or security for payment, Mr Randall had
acted in breach of his contract. AAP
[AIW [Asia Africa Intelligence Wire]] |
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