Shuffle Master's Q3 wasn't disastrous, but there's still work to be done

I have a soft spot for Shuffle Master (NASDAQ: SHFL). A few years back, I owned the stock when it was in its growth phase and made a little money on it. Now, though, the gambling entity's shares are stuck in $5-land, and it's truly been a terrible stock.

Well, on Monday, Shuffle Master reported earnings for the third quarter after the market closed. In a relative sense, the numbers weren't too bad, but at the same time, they in no way make me want to buy the stock. And believe me, I have been waiting for the day when data will reveal that Shuffle Master is a buy. I just feel that the company can return to growth at some point. Gambling isn't going away, right?

Anyway, according to this RTTNews link, revenues increased nearly 10% during the quarter, but sadly, the bottom line couldn't move. Shuffle Master booked only $0.08 per share in terms of net income, a stat which represents 0% growth. It also was a miss by two pennies of Wall Street's estimates. However, according to the press release issued by the company, there is one neat silver lining in the form of cash from operations. That metric increased 9% during the quarter, and it was driven by diligent management of working capital changes.