Gaming giant IGT takes pandemic hit of 18%

After a period of cost-saving on non-essentials during the pandemic, IGT is now switching its focus to structural cost savings initiatives, said CEO Marco Sala as he presented the company’s results for the first quarter of the year.

They show, he said, a “solid start” for the first two months of the year, quickly shifting focus to the global crisis in March.

CFO Max Chiara has revised his 2020 outlook because of the uncertainty but points out that with US$2.2bn of liquidity, the company has sound financial flexibility to weather the storm.

In the quarter revenue was $940m, down 18 per cent from the $1.145bn of the previous comparable quarter. Operating income went from $178m to a loss of $197m and EBITDA  fell from $417m to $309m, or 26 per cent.