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Aristocrat's CEO Campaign Helps Bottom Line15 June 2004AUSTRALIA – As reported by the Bloomberg: "Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Paul Oneile accepted an annual pay package less than half the size of his predecessor's when he joined the world's No. 2 slot- machine maker on Dec. 1. "Oneile, 53, replaced former CEO Des Randall, who was fired in April 2003 after falling profit forecasts caused shares of the Sydney- based company to dive 65 percent in the first quarter of the year. Randall lived in a A$4.4 million (US$3.1 million) Sydney harborfront home bought for him by Aristocrat, which the company sold after his dismissal. "`We're trying to instill in this company that if you're going to spend a dollar, would you spend your own dollar?' Oneile, former chief executive of United International Pictures in London, said in an interview. `That goes from expenses through to major investment decisions. If the answer is no, then don't come to me with that proposal.' "Oneile's cost-cutting campaign has helped Aristocrat return to profit after a record A$106 million loss last year. The company earned A$8.5 million in net income in the first quarter and expects a first-half profit of as much as A$60 million. "…Under Oneile, Aristocrat is gaining on rivals such as Reno-based International Game Technology -- the world's biggest slot-machine maker -- by introducing new games in Japan, which surpassed Australia as Aristocrat's biggest market last year, according to the company's 2003 earnings report. "…Oneile, who spent 20 years in the film industry, is pushing into new markets such as Macau to counter slowing sales in Australia, where some state governments have limited the number of slot machines and banned smoking in gaming rooms. "…In March, Aristocrat agreed to sell 127 machines to Las Vegas Sands Inc.'s newly opened Sands casino in Macau. Oneile expects the Macau market -- where new casinos are opening after casino operator Stanley Ho's monopoly ended in 2002 -- will need as many as 40,000 slot machines…" |