Australia gaming manufacturing giant Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd. announced on Monday in a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that its CEO, Danny Gladstone, will be stepping down from his position next year. His last day as CEO will be June 30, but the executive will still remain with the company, which, according to Ainsworth, will give the company the ability to 
retain the experience and expertise Gladstone has accumulated over the years in the gaming industry.
Gladstone will remain in his current position until a suitable replacement is found. When that happens, he will switch to an unidentified role within the organization.
Graeme Campbell, who serves as Ainsworth’s chairman of the board, said that Gladstone has been responsible for driving the international growth of the company. He added, “Ainsworth is much stronger for Danny’s contribution. We are delighted he will continue to assist us in the future.”
Ainsworth saw impressive profit during its previous fiscal year, even though it was less than the previous year. In its financial report issued in August, the company reported a net profit of US$23.3 million for the year, about 15.8% less than the prior period. Revenue for the company was approximately US$192.6 million. The company added that sales were better in the second half of the financial year than they were during the first half.
Ainsworth had anticipated stronger profits after scoring a deal with U.S.-based Churchill Downs this past summer. That deal led the company to update its revenue forecast to US$14.7 million for the second half, as well as its entire year forecast to US$26.5 million.
Despite being in the black, the company has had a turbulent year. Profits haven’t been where the company had anticipated and the company twice updated its revenue forecast in a single month. In July, it was announced that Ainsworth’s primary shareholder, Novomatic, had reduced its stake in the company the previous May. Novomatic lowered its controlling amount from 53.58% to 52.38%. That change was a result of Ainsworth’s “dilution through the issuing of new shares by Ainsworth through the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) in May and November 2016 prior to Novomatic completing its ownership of the shares from Mr. LH Ainsworth and entities controlled by him,” according to a statement by Bernhard Krumpel, Novomatic’s Head of Group Communications.
While somewhat erratic, the company’s performance helped Novomatic see its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) increase in the first half of the year to US$370.9 million, a jump of 12.6% over the same period in the previous year.
