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International Game Technology (IGT), one of the biggest names in gaming machines, has published its financial results for the first quarter of 2016, and the numbers are impressive.The results show a 51% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenues, which have risen to $1.282 billion.
Strong global lottery growth
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose by 43% to $460 million during the first three months of 2016. IGT said that this was due to “strong global lottery growth”, especially from the likes of Italy and North America as well as “resilient global gaming revenues.”
Marco Sala, Chief Executive Officer for IGT said:“We begin 2016 with a solid first quarter, evidenced by good revenue growth with all operating segments contributing to an improvement in profitability.”
GTech merger
Last year, IGT went through a $6.4 billion merger with Italian specialists in lottery equipment and management, GTech, and revealed that its pro forma first quarter revenues grew by 4% year-on-year, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, etc. rose by 12%.“Continuing growth across all regions, especially North America and Italy, propelled our lottery revenues,”Sala said,“Gaming revenues were resilient despite challenging market conditions in North America, our largest gaming market. We remain focused on reenergizing gaming operations and strengthening our global leadership in lotteries. We were successful in securing the Italian Lotto concession, one of our largest contracts and a cornerstone of our Italian operations.”
CFO Comments
Alberto Fornaro, Chief Financial Officer for IGT added:“Revenue growth, disciplined cost management and synergy savings all contributed to sharp profit expansion. Even after large interest payments during the period, we generated significant free cash flow, enabling us to reduce debt in constant currency and further improve our leverage profile.”