Light & Wonder’s third-quarter earnings presentation marked a changing of the guard. Matthew Wilson, who was named CEO in October and had served as interim CEO after former CEO Barry Cottle left the company in August, led his first conference call.
The Las Vegas cross-platform games company posted a surge in revenue that topped forecasts, but adjusted earnings per share missed them.
In a statement, Light & Wonder said its net income was $328 million, or $3.42 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, up from net income of $182 million, or $1.84 per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings per share, which exclude one-time charges, were 14 cents per share, which fell short of the 39- cent-per-share consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Seeking Alpha.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a cash-flow measure that excludes one-time costs, rose 15.7% to $235 million from $203 million.
Revenue rose 20.2% to $648 million from $539 million and topped the $623.5 million forecast of Seeking Alpha-polled analysts. A 24% increase in gaming-segment revenue ($419 million from $339 million) and a 47.3% increase in gaming-machine sales ($140 million from $95 million) buoyed overall revenue.
Light & Wonder said it closed the sale of its OpenBet sports betting platform to Endeavor. The deal yielded $750 million in cash and $50 million in Class A Endeavor common stock shares.
Earlier in the year, Light & Wonder said divestiture from its lottery business yielded $5.7 billion in gross cash proceeds.
During the quarter, the company bought back 4.4 million shares for $241 million. Light & Wonder has now bought back more than 30% of the total authorization since it launched its share-buyback program in March.
“With the heavy lifting done around the transactions and the balance sheet, we’re now a rebranded company with three complementary business units and our (research and development) engine at the center of our universe,” Wilson told analysts and journalists. “We have a unique collection of assets that is at the core powered by games, technology, and our amazing team. I’m focused on continuing to build on our great momentum and capture the incredible opportunity in front of us.”
During the quarter, Light & Wonder acquired the assets of House Advantage LLC, a provider of loyalty and marketing software and technology operating in Las Vegas and India, for an undisclosed price.
Light & Wonder shares rose $3.73, or 6.98%, Thursday to close at $57.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The share price has fallen 12.7% in 2022.
