The Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL) share price is falling hard today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gaming technology company closed yesterday trading for $68.13. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for $59.49 apiece, down 12.7%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.1% at this same time.
This follows the release of Aristocrat's half-year results for the six months ending 31 March, with those results failing to meet lofty expectations.
Here's what we learned.
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Aristocrat share price tumbles on results
The Aristocrat share price is under pressure despite the company reporting a 9% year-on-year increase in revenue to $3.0 billion. Revenue for the six months was up 5% in constant currency terms.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.2 billion was 13% higher on a reported basis and up 9% on a constant currency basis.
And net profit after tax (NPAT) of $664.9 million was up a slender 0.1% from the prior corresponding period, with increased costs partly offsetting rising revenue.
The half-year also saw the completion of Aristocrat's $1.85 billion share buyback program. And management announced a new share buyback program of up to $750 million, greenlit to run through February 2026.
The Aristocrat share price isn't getting any support today from the company's announcement of an interim unfranked dividend of 44 cents per share, up 22.2% from last year's interim dividend. Eligible investors can expect to receive that passive income payout on 1 July.
As at 31 March, Aristocrat had a net debt position of $425 million with liquidity of $2.2 billion.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results that have so far failed to lift the Aristocrat share price today, CEO Trevor Croker said, "This was a positive result, illustrating the quality of Aristocrat's portfolio and ability to grow through different operating environments while also investing for the future."
Croker added:
We completed the divestiture of Plarium in the reporting period and refocused our mobile operations around our core Product Madness Social Casino business, in line with Aristocrat's refreshed growth strategy.
We also invested in aligning technology and product strategies, and took important steps to set up Aristocrat Interactive to accelerate its performance, and allow us to extract more benefit and momentum from our scale and capabilities
What's next for the Aristocrat share price?
Looking at what could impact the Aristocrat share price in the months ahead, the company said it expects to deliver NPATA growth over the full year to 30 September on a constant currency basis for its continuing operations, excluding Plarium.
"We continue to see strong momentum in our business as we align our portfolio to capture the significant strategic opportunities in front of us," Croker said.
Croker concluded:
We expect an acceleration in operating momentum in the second half of the year as we capitalise on product rollout and technology initiatives across our portfolio. We remain committed to our capital management strategy and our ongoing on-market share buy-back program.
With today's big intraday fall factored in, Aristocrat shares remain up 49% over 12 months.
