A 42% surge in global gaming revenue helped International Game Technology to reap higher first-quarter revenue that paired with higher per-share earnings to top Wall Street forecasts.
London-based IGT, which has a strong Nevada presence, reported net income of $117 million, 39 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31, up from net income of 138 million, 44 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results topped the 28 cents-per-share average forecast of analysts polled by Seeking Alpha.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a cash-flow measure that excludes one-time costs, fell 3.8% to $433 million from $450 million.
Revenue rose 4% to $1.05 billion from $1.01 billion and topped Wall Street analysts’ $1.04 billion forecast.
Although IGT shares fell in regular trading, sinking 28 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $19.79 on the New York Stock Exchange, they rebounded after hours, rising 98 cents, or 4.95%, to settle at $20.77.
Higher unit shipments, average selling prices, intellectual-property royalties, and active installed base unit buoyed IGT’s global gaming revenue, which totaled $325 million for the quarter.
“We’ve invested heavily in key hardware and content initiatives over the last three years and are seeing the benefits in the success of recent launches,” IGT Chief Executive Officer Vince Sadusky said in a conference call with analysts and journalists. “It sets us up very well for 2023 and beyond.”
Global Lottery revenue sank 9.2% to $680 million from $749 million. The year-earlier period included $95 million in prior-year benefits from Italy gaming-hall closures, higher multistate-jackpot activity, and incentive accruals related to loan-management agreements.
During the quarter, IGT launched PlayCasino games in West Virginia, expanding digital footprint to five U.S. states, and in Ontario. Sadusky said the $174.1 million acquisition of United Kingdom-based gaming-content provider and third-party game aggregator iSoftBet will help IGT simplify the integration of new content and speed entry into new markets.
IGT said it expects to launch iSoftBet’s content and aggregation platform in the U.S. and Canada and bring IGT’s content via iSoftBet’s platform into European markets in the year’s second half.
Also in the quarter, IGT extended its contract with the Missouri Lottery by three years, was awarded a multiyear instant-ticket contract with Lotto Baden-Württemberg in Germany, and struck sports betting partnerships with Meruelo Gaming LLC and Kalispel Casino.
IGT said it returned $80 million to shareholders in dividends and share repurchases; the company bought back 1.4 million shares in the quarter and invested more than $70 million in capital expenditures.
“We currently have a very manageable debt portfolio with no large, near-term maturities,” Chief Financial Officer Max Chiara said.
Follow Matthew Crowley on Twitter @copyjockey.
