GGRAsia – L&W posts US$731mln 3Q rev, says gaming sales robust

L&W posts US$731mln 3Q rev, says gaming sales robust

Nov 10, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

Casino equipment and online games provider Light & Wonder Inc (L&W) reported revenue of US$731 million for the third quarter of 2023, up 12.8 percent from the prior-year period.

Third-quarter net income from continued operations was US$80 million, compared to US$20 million a year earlier. The company reported net profit attributable to shareholders of US$75 million for the three months to September 30, down from US$328 million a year ago.

The figures were issued in the United States on Thursday. The company said the increase in revenue was “driven by double-digit growth across all” of its business segments, “representing a tenth consecutive quarter of growth”.

Light & Wonder’s third-quarter consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$286 million, up 21.7 percent year-on-year.

Matt Wilson, president and chief executive of Light & Wonder, was cited in the announcement as saying the group had achieved “exceptional results” in the quarter, with “double-digit growth across all three of our businesses for the fourth consecutive quarter”.

In an interview with GGRAsia in September, Mr Wilson said the land-based casino market in Asia was “strategically very important” for Light & Wonder, with the company planning to increase its presence in the region. “We’re in the process of expanding our facilities in the Philippines,” he stated.

Oliver Chow, the firm’s interim chief financial officer, said in prepared remarks, that the third-quarter results demonstrated the group’s “commitment to growing the business and maintaining healthy margins”.

He added: “Our business segments’ adjusted EBITDA are at their highest levels in 2023 as we continue to stay intensely focused on executing on our strategy while driving margin enhancement initiatives.”

Third-quarter gaming-segment revenue stood at US$465 million, up 11.0 percent year-on-year, “driven by another quarter of robust growth in gaming machine sales, which grew 23 percent year-on-year,” stated Light & Wonder.

The segment generated adjusted EBITDA of US$235 million, up 16.3 percent from the prior-year period.

The company said it sold 8,685 gaming machine units in the three months to September 30, an increase of 16.9 percent from a year earlier. The third-quarter machine shipments included 4,045 units sold in the international market, including Asia Pacific, up 41.5 percent year-on-year.

SciPlay generated US$196 million in third-quarter revenue, compared with US$171 million a year ago. SciPlay’s quarterly adjusted EBITDA was US$61 million, versus US$43 million in the prior-year quarter.

In October, outside the reporting period, Light & Wonder said it had completed the deal to acquire the 17 percent of digital games business SciPlay that it did not already own.

The group’s iGaming segment generated revenue of US$70 million in the third quarter this year, up from US$58 million a year ago. Segmental adjusted EBITDA stood at US$25 million, compared to US$20 million a year earlier.

Light & Wonder stated its net debt stood at just under US$3.03 billion as of September 30. The company’s net debt leverage ratio as of that date was 2.8 times, compared to 3.3 times as of December 31.

The company said that during the quarter it “returned US$112 million of capital to shareholders” through share repurchases, and refinanced US$550 million of senior notes, extending their maturity from 2025 to 2031.