IGT Plc reports a stable start to the year’s trading, as the NYSE-listed gambling technology group begins proceedings to merge its Global Gaming and PlayDigital businesses with Everi Holdings Inc.
Publishing its Q1 accounts, IGT reported corporate revenues of $1bn, primarily driven by strong growth in the Global Lottery segment, partially offsetting sales declines in its Gaming & Digital unit.
Period trading saw Global Lottery revenues increase by 6% to $661m, reflecting strong same-store sales in Italy and improved commercial performance of self-service terminals (SSTs) in Canada and Germany.
Lottery growth offsets a 7% decline in Gaming & Digital revenues to $406m (Q1 2023: $436m), attributed to lower product sales due to fewer unit shipments.
The NYSE-listed gambling group’s operating income remained stable at $265m, as the like-for-like operating margin remained steady at 24%.
IGT informed that excluding separation & divestiture costs, operating income rose by 7% to $273m, increasing the margin by 150 basis points to 25.6%.
Adjustments for separation & divestiture expenses were further reflected in IGT’s Q1 EBITDA of $443m compared to $449m reported in the prior year.
Q1 trading saw net income from operations double to $128m (Q1 2023: $67m) as IGT’s accounts benefited from a $15m in FX gains related to the EUR/USD exchange rates and reduced losses related to the devaluation of the Argentine peso.
The group’s net debt was reported at $5.1bn, a slight increase from $5.0bn at the end of 2023 as debt leverage remained stable at 2.9x.
Looking ahead to H2, the IGT board has initiated proceedings to merge its Gaming & Digital unit with the NYSE-listed financial services group Everi Holdings in a deal valued at over $6bn. IGT informed investors that it expects the merger to close by early 2025.
“Innovative game, hardware, and systems solutions drove better-than-expected Global Lottery and Gaming & Digital performance in the first quarter,” said Vince Sadusky, CEO of IGT.
“As a result, we are upgrading our full-year 2024 revenue and profit goals, which reflect broad-based momentum across key performance indicators in the balance of the year. We continue to make progress on separating Global Lottery from Gaming & Digital and preparing for the proposed transaction with Everi.”
