Gaming and lottery provider International Game Technology Plc (IGT) reported on Tuesday first-quarter revenue of just above US$1.05 billion, up 3.5 percent from the prior-year period. The figure was flat relative to the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company said in a Tuesday press release that the increase in revenue for the period was driven by “significantly higher” sales in its global gaming segment.
IGT posted a net profit of US$79 million, down 14.1 percent from the prior-year period, according to Tuesday’s press release.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 3.8 percent year-on-year, to US$433 million.
The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.20 per share, to be paid on June 7.
For the three months to March 31, IGT outlined that its global gaming revenue rose by 42.5 percent year-on-year, to US$325 million, “driven by significantly higher product sales revenue and higher active installed base units.”
The company stated it sold 7,176 gaming machine units during the reporting period, up from 4,405 in the prior-year quarter. That included 328 new units, and 6,848 replacements.
Revenue in the lottery segment was US$680 million, down 9.2 percent from a year earlier, which included US$95 million in prior-year benefits.
The release quoted IGT’s chief executive, Vince Sadusky, as saying: “The quarter’s strong margin profile highlights the long-term recovery of the gaming business, as well as increased levels of lottery play from pre-Covid periods.”
He added: “The company’s initiatives around a simplified corporate structure have resulted in strong liquidity as we continue to invest in product development and return capital to shareholders.”
IGT said it delivered US$115 million in positive free cash flow in the first quarter. The company’s net debt position stood at just above US$5.83 billion as at the end of the first quarter, down from US$7.07 billion a year earlier. It was down from the US$5.92-billion net debt recorded at the end of December.
IGT’s chief financial officer Max Chiara said the group’s first-quarter performance “marks excellent progress on the [firm’s] profitable growth trajectory.”
“The benefits we are realising from continued discipline around cost and cash flow management are evident in profit margins that are among the highest in the last three years and in significantly lower interest expense,” he added.
In January, IGT announced a leadership rejig. The move came soon after news of a mulled listing of its digital and betting business.
In April, outside the reporting period, IGT announced an agreement to acquire iSoftBet, for approximately EUR160 million (US$168.8 million) in cash. iSoftBet is an online and mobile casino games supplier, and third-party game aggregator. It is expected the transaction will be closed during the second quarter of 2022, the suitor said in Tuesday’s release.
