Global gaming supplier International Game Technology (IGT) has maintained its momentum in 3Q21, with operating income up by 144% year-on-year to US$212 million on strong growth across all three business segments.
Group-wide revenue rose by 21% compared with the same period in 2020 to US$984 million, led by a 14% increase in global lottery revenue to US$652 million. Global gaming was 34% higher at US$289 million and Digital & Betting 37% higher at US$43 million.
While both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA were slightly lower than Q2, IGT said Q3 Adjusted EBITDA of US$407 million was still among the highest in company history – prompting the company to reinstate a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.20 per common share.
“Broad-based momentum across our Lottery, Gaming and Digital & Betting activities drove significant improvement in key financial and performance metrics in the third quarter,” said IGT CEO Marco Sala.
“Revenue grew over 20% and operating income more than doubled, highlighting the strength of our portfolio. Based on our excellent year-to-date results and our solid financial condition, the Board reinstated a quarterly cash dividend, signalling their confidence in the company’s prospects.”
Chief Financial Officer Max Chiara also revealed that IGT had reduced net debt leverage from 6.4x at the start of the year to 3.8x currently, while net debt has fallen from US$7.3 billion to US$6.1 billion in the first nine months of 2021.
“We are supporting strong top-line growth with strategic investments in the business while still making good progress on optimizing our cost structure,” Chiara said. “Achieving our goal of reducing net debt leverage below 4.0x was a big accomplishment in the quarter.”