Casino equipment and online gaming provider Light & Wonder Inc L&W reported first-quarter 2023 revenue of $670 million, up 17.1% from a year ago. The increase was driven by growth in all businesses, including "a quarter of SciPlay and iGaming's record sales," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Light & Wonder posted a net profit of $27 million in the three months to March 31, compared to a loss of $67 million in the year-ago quarter.
Consolidated adjusted earnings (EBITDA) for the quarter before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased 23.3% year-on-year to $249 million. The company said the adjusted EBITDA results were mainly driven by "double-digit growth" and "improved profit margins" in all of the group's businesses.
"We entered 2023 with strong momentum and achieved another quarter of double-digit top-line growth as we continued to implement progress toward strategic planning and long-term financial goals with strong cash flows," Light & Wonder said.
Light & Wonder also said on Tuesday that its board had approved proceeding with a second listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to complement its current listing on the U.S. Nasdaq.
"The board believes that pursuing a secondary listing on ASX has significant potential benefits for the company and its shareholders," the company said on Tuesday.
The benefits include providing company access to one of the "leading markets" of the gaming business, "raising the company's profile in Australia" and "new long-term Australian institutional investors who will complement strong existing shareholder bases in the United States and Australia," it said
Increase in sales 파친코
In prepared remarks mentioned in the results announcement, Matt Wilson, president and chief executive of Light & Wonder, said the group had a "strong start" in 2023.
"Our strategy and disciplined investments are driving up returns by continuing to develop and implement a strong product roadmap based on the strong momentum we saw in 2022," he said.
Mr Wilson added: "Teams have executed several notable wins and major releases in the quarter, and we have a full pipeline of games that support progress toward long-term goals."
Gaming revenue for the reporting period was $419 million, compared to $355 million for the first quarter of 2022. The sector generated an adjusted EBITDA of $260 million, up from $171 million a year ago.
This growth in the gaming segment was driven by "continuous momentum" in machine sales, which grew 53.4% year-on-year to $158 million.
The company sold 7,678 game consoles in the three months to March 31, compared with 5,296 a year ago. These shipments sold 3,621 units in the international market, including in the Asia-Pacific region, up from 1,914 units a year earlier.
"Game operations maintained average daily revenue per unit, while the game system continued to grow 8% and maintain strong momentum," the company added.
SciPlay achieved "record revenue" of $186 million in the first three months of 2023, backed by its "core social casino business." iGaming revenue reached $65 million, the "biggest quarterly revenue ever." That's compared to $59 million a year ago.