Strong global gaming performance and the closed acquisition of iSoftBet boosted third-quarter revenue for International Game Technology. Adjusted earnings per share and revenue both topped Wall Street forecasts.
In a statement Tuesday, IGT said its operating income was $211 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, about even with $212 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were $1.31, up from 31 cents per share. Adjusted earnings per share, which eliminate one-time costs, were 43 cents, topping the 30-cents-per-share forecast of analysts surveyed by Seeking Alpha.
London-based IGT’s shares surged on the news, rising $4.46, or 22.36%, to close at $24.41 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares fell 1 cent, or 0.04%, to close at $24.40.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a cash-flow measure that excludes one-time costs, fell 1.2% to $402 million from $407 million.
Revenue rose 7.7% to $1.06 billion from $984 million and topped the $1.01 billion forecast of Seeking Alpha-polled analysts. IGT said the second-quarter closing of its $164 million deal for gaming-content company iSoftBet boosted revenue. When it announced the deal, IGT said iSoftbet would expand the company’s content library and give it an aggregation platform for distributing third-party games.
“Our strategic focus on driving growth through innovation and optimizing our processes and scale is paying off,” Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sadusky said in a conference call with analysts and journalists. “When the company reorganized around three main business segments with global product responsibility, it enabled our teams to focus on delivering best-in-class products and services more efficiently and profitably.”
Sadusky said that thanks to the iSoftBet deal, IGT’s icasino offer is live in over 25 jurisdictions and a number of new-market launches in Europe and Latin America are planned for next year. IGT is also on pace to double its new-game launch count to about 50 per year.
“The expansion of our game-development capabilities, along with our newly acquired aggregation platform, enables us to develop exclusive selections for our customers who are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves in the market,” Sadusky said.
In the quarter, IGT’s revenue gains in global gaming (up 31% to $379 million from $289 million) and digital and betting (up 27% to $54 million from $43 million) countered a revenue slip in global lottery (down 4% to $626 million from $652 million).
Also, the company cut net debt 17% to $5.1 billion from $6.1 billion.
Sadusky said IGT’s sale of its Italian commercial-services business helped reduce debt. He also said through mid-October, IGT returned over $220 million to shareholders in dividends and share repurchases, a fiscal-year record.
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