Q2 Wheel of Fortune Turns for IGT
A bold strategy of mining its debt mountain and cutting back to basics has paid off for multi-national International Game Technology (IGT) Plc with a strong return to operate profitably in Q2, according to just-published company financials.
Shedding the US$72 million (£51.67m/€60.72m) second-quarter losses of Covid-ravaged 2020, the London-headquartered B2B betting big beast reported a 74 per cent, year-on-year, hike in revenue to just over US$1 billion (£717.76m/€843.46m) – while simultaneously paying-off one billion of its running US$7.3 billion debt (£5.24bn/€6.16bn).
IGT’s recovery was supercharged by the sale of its C-facing Lottomatica Italy vertical for US$748 million (£536.88m/€630.91m) in a straight cash-on-the-table deal.
The group’s net EBITDA topped US$442 million (£317.25m/€372.81m), compared to the US$164 million (£117.71m/€138.32m) of Q2, 2020; while revenue from its digital and betting vectors increased by 41 per cent, like-for-like.
ITG’s Global Lottery division delivered “the second-highest revenues and profit levels in segment history”, the company noted in its Q2 financial report, driven by strong punter action, which saw revenue for the vertical more than double to US$316 million (£226.81m/€266.53m) in the quarter, year-on-year.
“Our leverage profile improved substantially, reaching pre-pandemic levels well ahead of expectations and improving our credit profile and overall financial condition,” said the company’s CFO Max Chiara.
“Record free cash flow from continuing operations and proceeds from recent asset sales fuelled significant debt reduction in the first half,” he confirmed.
Added CEO Marco Sala: “Impressive second-quarter results highlight the vitality of our portfolio.
“Outstanding lottery performance, the progressive recovery in land-based gaming, and a strong increase in [our] Digital & Betting drove substantial revenue and profit growth, delivering Adjusted EBITDA that is among the highest recorded in a quarterly period.
“On the strength of the first half performance, we are raising our outlook for the year and now expect to exceed 2019 levels for key financial metrics this year.”
