Market Briefs (Nov. 25-29, 2002)

2 December 2002

Ainsworth Suffers AU$5 Million Loss

Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd. (AGI) is expecting an AU$5 million loss for the six months ending Dec. 31 of this year.

At the company's annual general meeting, chief executive Peter James said the group has substantial investment requirements for fiscal 2003, its current fiscal year, including an expense of AU$10.6 million.

Among the company's future prospects is the purchase of gaming machine distributor Victorian Gaming Systems. Ainsworth is planning to buy the business and intellectual property rights on Jan. 2 for AU $600,000 as a down payment. The remainder of the AU$3.3 million purchase price will be deferred.

In January, Ainsworth announced it would create exclusive games for crowngames.com, the online casino belonging to Publishing and Broadcasting (PBL).

Jupiters Predicts Returns of Up to 16 Cents per Share

Australian gaming company Jupiters (JUP) last week informed shareholders that they can expect to see returns of between AU 15 cents and 16 cents on their shares in the company's first half to Dec. 31.

"The good news is that since June 30, we have seen a modest turnaround in the gaming machine performance and continued growth in our non-casino business," said the group's managing director, Robert Hines.

The company is reporting a net profit after tax of AU$78.1 million for the year ending June 2002, a slight increase from the previous year's net profit of AU$77.1 million. The first half of the year yielded better results than the second half, Hines said.

"Unfortunately, the rate of recovery of our gaming machine business will not be fast enough to deliver earnings per-share growth in this the first half of the 2003 financial year when compared to the first half of our 2002 financial year," he said.

Hines said Jupiters' strategy for the future will be to focus on overseas markets, as the growth opportunities in Australia are becoming limited.

Stanley Leisure Denies Bid for London Clubs

Land-based and online gaming operator Stanley Leisure (SLY) said today that it has not yet made a bid for some of London Clubs' casinos in the United Kingdom. The group said it was making the announcement in response to press speculation that it will offer £250 million for some of the nation's most well known gaming properties.

"Stanley Leisure has no intention of announcing or participating in any such offer without having undertaken an appropriate due-diligence exercise with the cooperation of the board of London Clubs," the company said in a press release. "No such due-diligence exercise has been discussed."

British newspapers are reporting that Stanley Leisure is prepared to offer 25 pence to 30 pence per share for a deal that would give a portion of London Clubs to Stanley Leisure and the remainder of it to Hg Capital.

MGM Settles Lawsuit

MGM Mirage (MGG) on Wednesday settled a case with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $1.14 million.

The lawsuit, filed against MGM Mirage in Nevada's U.S. District Court, alleged that the hotel and casino discriminated against African-American and Hispanic job applicants during 1996 and 1997.

According to the settlement, MGM Mirage will pay $840,000 to the applicants and establish procedures for collecting complaints, preventing discrimination and record keeping. The Las Vegas-based company, which operates an online casino licensed in the Isle of Man, established a diversity program in 2000.