Crane Payment Innovations (CPI), the payments arm of Crane NXT that boasts a strong interest in the global gaming industry, reported sales of US$224.9 million in the three months to 30 September 2024, up 1.5% year-on-year. Operating profit of US$64.6 million was also 8.2% higher year-on-year, aided by improved profit margins.
In a filing, Crane NXT said the improved results from CPI reflected favorable pricing, lower manufacturing costs, productivity gains and cost saving actions, partially offset by unfavorable product mix.
They also contributed strongly to Crane NXT’s group-wide results, reporting a 14.3% increase in net sales to US$403.5 million albeit with a 5.9% decline in operating profit to US$75.0 million. The lower profit came from the company’s Security and Authentication Technologies segment, which was impacted by the acquisition of brand protection and authentication solutions firm OpSec Security in May.
“This quarter we announced that we signed an agreement to acquire De La Rue Authentication Solutions and that we acquired the Smart Packaging assets of Tru Tag Technologies,” said Crane NXT’s President and CEO, Aaron W. Saak.
“These transactions, along with the acquisition of OpSec Security which we completed earlier this year, continue to expand and diversify the Company and accelerate our strategy as a market leader in providing trusted technology solutions that secure, detect, and authenticate our customers’ most valuable assets.
“Our third quarter results were in line with our expectations, with core sales growth of nearly 5% and adjusted operating profit margin of approximately 24%. We repaid approximately US$65 million of outstanding debt in the quarter and reduced our net leverage to approximately 1.7x. With our strong balance sheet and operational performance, we have ample liquidity for disciplined M&A to create further value for our shareholders.”
