Bally Technologies, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

Bally Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BYI):

• FIRST QUARTER REVENUE UP 14 PERCENT TO $195 MILLION WITH DILUTED EPS OF $0.45
• THIRD SEQUENTIAL RECORD QUARTERLY GAMING OPERATIONS REVENUE
• WIDE-AREA PROGRESSIVE INSTALLED BASE GROWS 23 PERCENT
• PURCHASES $36 MILLION WORTH OF COMMON STOCK SINCE JUNE 30, 2011
• EXPECTS TO ACHIEVE FISCAL 2012 DILUTED EPS OF $2.20 TO $2.45

Bally Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BYI), a leader in slots, video machines, casino management, interactive and mobile applications, and networked systems for the global gaming industry, announced today diluted earnings per share ("Diluted EPS”) of $0.45 on revenue of $195 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011.

"Our investments of recent years are beginning to pay off with good revenue growth across all three divisions and strong customer interest in a variety of our new games and systems products,” said Richard M. Haddrill, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. "We have many exciting initiatives to be accomplished this year and are diligently focused on exceeding customer expectations. We continue to focus on and invest in growth opportunities in a number of domestic and international jurisdictions.”

"During the quarter, we allocated free cash flow to a number of sources including our gaming operations footprint through incremental wide-area progressive placements and build-out of units for Resorts World New York, debt reduction, repurchases of our common stock, and the acquisition of MacroView Labs,” said Neil Davidson, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. "This quarter represents the 16th quarter in a row that we have repurchased stock. Since June 30, 2011, we purchased approximately 1.2 million shares of common stock for $36 million at $29.07 per share, of which $31 million was in our first quarter.”

As of today, the Company has $64 million available under the terms of its credit agreement for share repurchases for the remainder of fiscal 2012, and $116 million available under its Board-authorized share repurchase plan. However, under the terms of the Company’s credit agreement, there are no limitations on share repurchases when the Company’s debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio is less than 2.0 times. The Company’s debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio improved to 2.04 times as of September 30, 2011. Total debt decreased by approximately $9 million since June 30, 2011.

"We placed 120 incremental wide-area progressive units during the quarter, which helped to set another all-time quarterly gaming operations revenue record,” said Ramesh Srinivasan, the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. "We are particularly pleased with the feedback received from customers at this year’s Global Gaming Expo (''G2E''), where we showcased a significant depth of compelling new game content, as well as systems solutions with proven return-on-investment for gaming operators. Interest in our new games and cabinets, activity for competitive system replacements, and excitement about iVIEW DM™ have all picked up since G2E.”

Highlights of Certain Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2011

Overall

• Total revenue increased 14 percent to $195 million as compared with $171 million last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, including share-based compensation), a non-GAAP financial measure, increased to $59 million as compared with $58 million last year.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A”) declined to 29 percent of total revenues from 30 percent last year. SG&A increased $6 million primarily due to increases in payroll, regulatory and legal, and other infrastructure expenses to support key new markets and an increase in bad debt.
• Research and development expenses ("R&D”) decreased to 12 percent of total revenues as compared with 13 percent last year.
• Operating income increased 10 percent to $37 million compared with $34 million last year.
• Operating margin declined to 19 percent from 20 percent last year.
• Diluted EPS from continuing operations increased to $0.45 from $0.40 last year.

Gaming Equipment

• Revenues increased by 26 percent to $64 million as compared with $51 million last year, driven by higher unit sales and ASP.
• ASP of new gaming devices increased by six percent to $16,624 per unit from $15,685 last year, primarily as a result of product mix and an increase in ASP from international sales.
• New-unit sales to international customers were 31 percent of total new-unit shipments as compared with 29 percent last year.
• Gross margin decreased to 44 percent from 49 percent last year, primarily due to higher costs for the initial production runs of the Pro Curve™ and Pro V32™ cabinets, which were released in the back half of fiscal 2011, as well as higher costs due to the mix of royalty-based new-unit game sales and conversion-kit sales.

Gaming Operations

• Revenues increased to a quarterly record of $85 million as compared with $79 million last year, driven by placement of new premium games throughout the quarter and the performance of the Company's linked progressive systems installed base and lottery systems installed base.
• Gross margin remained relatively consistent at 71 percent compared to 72 percent last year.

Systems

• Revenues increased by 12 percent to $46 million as compared with $41 million last year, due to increases in software and services and maintenance revenues.
• Maintenance revenues increased to a record $18 million as compared with $16 million last year.
• Gross margin increased to 76 percent from 73 percent last year, primarily as a result of the change in mix of products sold and an increase in maintenance revenues. Specifically, hardware sales were 28 percent of systems revenues, and software and service sales were 33 percent, as compared to 38 percent for hardware and 23 percent for software and services in the same period last year.

Fiscal 2012 Business Update

"We signed several large contracts recently which have improved our long-term visibility, allowing us to better gauge the back half of fiscal 2012,” Davidson said. "The large contract wins of late have resulted in the highest value of systems deals closed in our history, but there are still several months of planning to be done on a few of these implementations before we begin to generate meaningful revenues. With the increased visibility, we are comfortable establishing an upper end to our Diluted EPS expectations for the remainder of fiscal 2012. Accordingly, we now expect fiscal 2012 Diluted EPS of $2.20 to $2.45.”

The Company has provided this earnings guidance for fiscal 2012 to give investors general information on the overall direction of its business at this time. The guidance provided is subject to numerous uncertainties, including, among others, overall economic and capital-market conditions, the market for gaming devices and systems, changes in gaming legislation, the timing of new jurisdictions and casino openings, the timing and completion of new systems installations, competitive product introductions, complex revenue-recognition rules related to the Company’s business, and assumptions about the Company’s new product introductions and regulatory approvals. The Company does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements, including forecasts, potential opportunities for growth in new and existing markets, and future prospects for proposed new products. Accordingly, the Company does not intend to update guidance during the quarter. Additional information about the factors that could potentially affect the Company’s financial results included in today’s press release can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The following table reconciles the Company’s income from continuing operations, net of tax attributable to Bally Technologies, Inc., as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP”), to Adjusted EBITDA:

Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure used by the Company’s management and by some industry analysts to evaluate the Company’s ability to service debt, and is used by some investors and financial analysts in the gaming industry in measuring and comparing Bally’s leverage, liquidity, and operating performance to other gaming companies. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to operating income or net cash from operations as determined in accordance with GAAP. Not all companies calculate Adjusted EBITDA the same way, and the Company’s presentation may be different from those presented by other companies.

Earnings Conference Call and Webcast

As previously announced, the Company is hosting a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. PDT). The conference-call dial-in numbers are 800-920-8624 or 617-597-5430 (International); passcode "Bally”. The webcast can be accessed by visiting BallyTech.com and selecting Investor Relations. Interested parties should initiate the call and webcast process at least five minutes prior to the beginning of the presentation. For those who miss this event, an archived version will be available at BallyTech.com until November 26, 2011.

About Bally Technologies, Inc.

With a history dating back to 1932, Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies designs, manufactures, operates, and distributes advanced technology-based gaming devices and systems worldwide, as well as interactive and mobile solutions. Bally’s product line includes reel-spinning slot machines, video slot machines, wide-area progressives, and Class II, lottery, and central determination games and platforms. Bally also offers an array of casino management, slot accounting, bonusing, cashless, and table-management solutions. Additional Company information, including the Company’s investor presentation, can be found at BallyTech.com. Connect with Bally on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

This news release may contain "forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Forward looking-statements are subject to change and involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect future results, including those risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes any expectations expressed in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information in this press release except as required by law and represents that the information speaks only as of today’s date.

— BALLY TECHNOLOGIES, INC. —