IGT Plc has declared a record operating income of $1bn, as the NYSE-listed technology group prepares for its next transformation having agreed terms to spin off its Global Gaming and PlayDigital units to Everi Holdings.
Publishing its FY2023 accounts, IGT’s corporate revenues stood at $4.3bn, up 2% on the FY2022 results of $4.2bn. Investors were informed that consolidated revenue growth indexed at +7%, due to the FY2022 results referencing the former Italy Lottomatica B2C business.
A breakdown of units saw the flagship Global Lottery unit generate FY2023 revenues of $2.5bn, down 2% on the FY2022 results of $2.6bn.
Despite Global Lottery registering a downturn in consolidated revenues, the unit maintained its operating income at $913m – “in line with the prior year, despite the sale of the Italy commercial services business”.
A transformed Global Lottery unit registered a strong close to the year’s trading, generating $681m (+7%) in revenues and $238m (+10%) in operating income contribution, “driven by strong in-store product sales with higher margins”.
Year-end trading saw IGT highlight the stellar performance of its Global Gaming unit, generating consolidated income of $1.6bn, up 9% on the FY2022 comparatives of $1.42bn.
Unit growth underlined an “operating income margin improvement by 320 basis points to 20.2% due to the easing of supply chain costs and research and development process improvements” – as Global Gaming operating income increased by 29% to $313m (FY2022: $242m).
Corporate growth was concluded by the PlayDigital unit registering a 9% increase in consolidated revenues to $228m (FY2022: $209m) and operating income of $65m (FY2022: $50m).
“We delivered a strong finish to the year in the fourth quarter, propelling full-year 2023 profits to record levels,” said Vince Sadusky, CEO of IGT.
“A compelling array of products and solutions fuelled broad-based momentum in key performance indicators, driving margin improvement across our Global Lottery, Global Gaming, and PlayDigital segments.
“We believe the recent decision to split the business and create separate lottery and gaming pure-play companies, each with experienced management teams and simplified business models, better positions each company to service customers and create significant value for stakeholders.”
The year-end accounts detailed corporate expenses amounted to $290m, up from $279m in the prior year, primarily due to Italian separation and divestiture costs.
Factors impacting earnings saw IGT accounts absorb an FX loss of approximately $75m (“versus $36m in 2022”), reflecting the impact of fluctuations in the EUR/USD exchange rate recorded during the year’s trading.
Despite FX impacts, IGT declared a record adjusted EBITDA result of $1.8bn, up 7% on FY2022 results of $1.7bn, driven by a higher operating income margin across its core business units.
As reported on 28 February, the board of IGT has accepted terms to merge the Global Gaming and PlayDigital units with Everi Holdings Inc. to create a combined business valued at $6.2bn, in which IGT shareholders are expected to own approximately 54%.
The board of IGT expects “full-year 2024 revenue of $4.3bn – $4.4bn with an operating margin of 20% – 21%, including a 300 basis point negative impact from separation and divestiture costs.”
Signing off the 2023 accounts, Max Chiara, CFO of IGT, said: “We achieved all of our financial goals in 2023.
“Robust cash generation funded incremental investments in the business and shareholder returns while driving leverage to historically low levels, putting IGT in a strong financial position as we enter 2024. This gives us confidence in further expanding our investment in the business to fund future growth.”
