Ainsworth Game Technology has reported higher gross margins for the first half of 2026, even as revenue fell sharply across most of its core business segments globally.
Total revenue for the period dropped 23.4% year-on-year to A$116.5m, compared to A$152.1m recorded during the same period in 2025.
The steepest decline came from North America, where revenue collapsed by 37.5% to A$51.9m, representing the most significant regional underperformance in the half.
Latin America and Europe combined revenue also fell by 19.6% to A$25.4m, while the company’s online segment slipped by 17.9% to A$2.3m during the period.
Asia Pacific provided the one bright spot, with regional revenue growing by 6.6% to A$36.9m, bucking the broader negative trend seen across the rest of the business.
Ainsworth said the revenue decrease was primarily attributed to lower land-based sales across its key markets, particularly in North America, Latin America and Europe.
The Asia Pacific performance was driven primarily by the successful release of its single-screen Raptor cabinet in Australia, which helped offset weakness recorded elsewhere.
Overall EBITDA declined 30.1% to A$10.2m, while profit after tax dropped sharply by 77.6% to just A$1.1m for the half-year period.
Stripping out foreign currency impacts and one-off items outside the ordinary course of business, underlying EBITDA came in at A$17.1m, though that figure still represented a 36.4% reduction against H1 2025.
Underlying profit after tax was recorded at A$6.2m, which while higher than the reported figure, still represented a significant 55.7% drop compared to the equivalent result from H1 2025.
On the positive side, Ainsworth’s gross margin improved notably to 62%, up from 56% in the prior-year period, partly thanks to an International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refund received during the half.
Higher average selling prices across Asia Pacific and North America also contributed meaningfully to the improved margin performance recorded across the business this half.
A decrease in lower-margin unit sales during the period allowed Ainsworth to deliver a higher proportion of high-margin recurring revenue, further supporting the improved margin outcome.
The company also strengthened its balance sheet, reducing its net debt position from A$11.8m at 31 December 2025 to A$8.5m at 30 June 2026.
Despite the margin improvement, shareholders reacted negatively to the overall results, with Ainsworth shares slipping 4.5% to A$1.06 at the time of publication.
