Gaming Revenue
Light & Wonder Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results
Light & Wonder Inc. reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Consolidated revenue in the quarter grew 13%.
Highlights
- Gaming revenue increased to $496 million, up 13% compared to the prior year period, primarily driven by another quarter of robust Gaming machine sales growth, which increased 31% globally, coupled with continued strong momentum in Gaming operations.
- SciPlay revenue rose to $204 million, a 12% increase from the prior year period, breaking a quarterly revenue record for the sixth consecutive quarter, driven by the core social casino business, which once again delivered strong payer metrics and outpaced the market and gained share.
- iGaming revenue increased 13% to $70 million reflecting continued growth momentum in the US and international markets.
- Full year consolidated revenue increased 16% to $2.9 billion delivering record results, which showcased strong financial performance, execution on growth strategy and transformation, and continued advancement toward long-term financial targets.
Matt Wilson, President and CEO of Light & Wonder, said: “2023 was a banner year for Light & Wonder. Our businesses delivered double-digit growth across the board throughout the year, enabled by strategic investments and strong execution. We consistently leverage a differentiated product strategy and plan to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities ahead of us. I am thrilled with the momentum we continue to see in the business, and with our winning mentality, experience, and talent in place, we are well-positioned to continue our growth trajectory. I want to congratulate our team on a successful year and know the best is yet to come.”
Oliver Chow, Chief Financial Officer of Light & Wonder, said: “We continue to see healthy trends in the business and were able to capitalize on many of the opportunities presented to us in 2023 to deliver strong top- and bottom-line growth, both in the quarter and for the full year. Our teams continued to deliver quality earnings with improved metrics over the course of 2023. Moving forward, we will focus on driving sustainable growth and executing against our balanced and opportunistic capital allocation strategy with discipline, driving value for all stakeholders.”
Leverage, Capital Return and Strategy Update
- Principal face value of debt outstanding of $3.9 billion, translating to net debt leverage ratio of 1x as of December 31, 2023, despite the cash outflow required to complete the SciPlay merger. The net debt leverage ratio decreased 0.2x from December 31, 2022, and remained within the targeted net debt leverage ratio range of 2.5x to 3.5x.
- Returned $25 million of capital to shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 3 million shares of L&W common stock during the quarter and $170 million or 2.4 million shares during 2023. Since the initiation of the program, the company has returned $575 million of capital to shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 9.4 million shares of L&W common stock, representing 77% of total program authorization.
- Repriced the Term Loan B in January 2024 reducing the interest rate by 35 basis points, resulting in a reduction in annualized interest costs of approximately $8 million.
- SciPlay merger integration completed successfully, with the Company strengthening its cross-platform strategy through synergistic game development processes across all businesses.
casinos
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Announces September 2024 Total Gaming Revenue Results
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement announced the September 2024 total gaming revenue results.
Casino Win:
Based upon filings with the Division of Gaming Enforcement, Casino Win for the nine casino hotel properties was $230.6 million for September 2024, reflecting a decrease of 6.5% when compared to $246.5 million reported in September 2023. Year-to-date Casino Win for the nine casino hotel properties was $2.15 billion, which is a decrease of 0.9% compared to the year-to-date Casino Win for September 2023.
Internet Gaming Win:
For the month of September 2024, Internet Gaming Win reported by casinos and their partners was $208.1 million, reflecting growth of 27.1% when compared to $163.8 million reported in September 2023. For the year-to-date period, Internet Gaming Win reported by casinos and their partners was $1.73 billion, reflecting growth of 23.2% when compared to $1.41 billion for the prior year-to-date period.
Sports Wagering Gross Revenue:
Sports Wagering Gross Revenue reported by casinos, racetracks, and their partners was $119.6 million for September 2024, reflecting a 7.6% increase when compared to $111.1 million reported in September 2023. Sports Wagering Gross Revenue reported by casinos, racetracks, and their partners was $835.4 million for the year-to-date period, reflecting a 17.8% increase when compared to $709.0 million reported in the prior year-to-date period.
Total Gaming Revenue:
Total Gaming Revenue reported by casinos, racetracks, and their partners was $558.3 million for September 2024, reflecting a 7.1% increase from $521.5 million reported in September 2023. For year-todate, Total Gaming Revenue reported by casinos, racetracks, and their partners was $4.72 billion, reflecting a 10.1% increase from $4.29 billion reported in the prior year-to-date period.
The temporary Caesars casino has generated $222 million in gaming revenue since opening last Year.
Meanwhile, construction continues on the permanent casino right next door.
Danville has received nearly $20 million of that as part of their agreement – $7 million more than expected.
“We figured it would be more, but we didn’t know it was gonna be this much more. That’s all great, actually, because it’s a temporary facility. It’s in a tent. They don’t have near the number of games that they would have in the full casino,” said Ken Larking, Danville City Manager.
Larking says the money is going toward neighborhood parks, school improvements, economic development and more.
“We want to invest in what would grow our city including more businesses, more opportunities for jobs, better quality of life, better recreational amenities, better education, workforce development, those are the kinds of things that we’re investing in,” Larking added.
General Manager Chris Albrecht says the temporary casino sees around 100,000 visitors per month. He expects that number to grow substantially once the permanent casino opens.
“That’s really going to bring a lot more customers from further away when we have all the offerings from the hotel, the restaurants, the entertainment meeting space, the pool, and the spa. It’s going to drive visitation from even further and further away. So, we’re really excited to move next door here in the next few months,” Albrecht said.
Their current staff will also jump from about 400 people to around 1200.
“Those jobs are number one and that incremental revenue to the city will help support existing businesses and hopefully new investment into this market as well,” Albrecht said.
They say the permanent casino is still on track to open by the end of the year.
UK-listed gambling company Entain has revealed that US fund management group Dodge & Cox last week doubled its stake.
The investment, which took its shareholding from 5.01% to 10.33%, took place on the same day Entain reported an update for the third quarter, during which group net gaming revenues rose 7% year-on-year.
As of the Ladbrokes owner’s closing share price on 1 November, the day before the investment, a 5.22% stake would have been worth around £310m.
Entain said on 2 November that it was on track to meet the upper end of its net gaming revenue guidance of $1.8bn to $2.0bn for the full year.
Dodge & Cox is a San Francisco-based investment manager with $323bn in assets under management as of the end of 2022.
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