Bally’s new CEO familiar face who assures Wall Street

Bally Technologies’ new chief executive officer has been making the rounds with the analyst community, although Ramesh Srinivasan happens to be a familiar face in a new role.

Srinivasan was named CEO last month, replacing Richard Haddrill who will become the company’s chairman. The changes take effect Dec. 31.

It’s not like Srinivasan was unfamiliar to Wall Street. Srinivasan joined Bally in 2005 as executive vice president of the company's systems division. He was promoted to president and chief operating officer in March 2011.

In recent meeting with analysts, Srinivasan told investors the slot machine giant will continue to expand.

“We came away with further confidence that the company is operating at a high level and has momentum in all business segments,” Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill said in a research report. “There are also opportunities for the company to grow its interactive segment and its international presence.”

Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets gaming analyst Steven M. Wieczynski said Bally has its three business segments – slot machines, systems and interactive – “moving in the right direction.”

Wieczynski told investors Bally’s management transition had been under way “for a long time,” with 90 percent of the company already reporting to Srinivasan.

“This is the first time we have had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with Mr. Srinivasan around the investment community,” Wieczynski said. “We were impressed with Mr. Srinivasan’s enthusiasm and thought he did an excellent job of ensuring investors that the transition would be smooth with little disruption as he believes Bally already has the right personnel in place to continue their momentum.”