The supplier saw EBITDA rise to €318m, a 12% increase on H1 2017, while EBIT also rose 23% to €148.4m.

The Austrian-based company enjoyed a 96% increase in sales revenue from gaming machines, chiefly due to the acquisition of Ainsworth Game Technology. 

Novomatic purchased 52% of the Ainsworth in January.

Other acquisitions in core markets such as Germany, Italy, Spain and Eastern Europe, also part-explained the H1 success.

The resulting expansion increased Novomatic's number of employees by 694, to a record tally of 26,230.

Novomatic CEO Harald Neumann said: “This pleasing result confirms our strategy of consolidating our market leadership in existing markets and of opening up new markets and technologies through acquisitions.

“The focus is on optimising internal processes and structures across borders.”

By contrast, Ainsworth itself recently reported a 6% year-on-year decrease in revenue from operating activities to A$265.5m (US$193.6m) for the financial year ending 30 June.