L&W upbeat despite increased loss

The newly-renamed Light & Wonder – formerly Scientific Games – had an improved revenue in the second quarter, ended June 30.

The total was $610m, compared with $581m, but the net loss was tripled from $51m to $150m. CEO Barry Cottle was unfazed however: “We made great strides in the second quarter as we continued to execute on our vision and the transformation of our company.

“We closed on the sale of our lottery business for $5.7bn in gross cash proceeds, which we used to significantly de-lever our balance sheet as we continue to deliver on our promises.

“With the lottery business sale and anticipated closing on the sale of our sports betting business by the end of the third quarter, we have achieved a significant milestone in the transformation of our organisation.

“We now have all the pieces in place and are singularly focused on building great games fully cross-platform. We recently hosted our inaugural investor day and detailed a roadmap for taking market share and unlocking tremendous value in a $70bn TAM.

This quarter we made tangible progress against our strategies as we delivered strong operating momentum and top-line growth in the quarter. The success we are seeing this quarter is the result of the fundamental changes we have made throughout the business.”

Cottle’s CFO, Connie James, added: “With our strong financial profile, including a high mix of recurring and digital revenues, sustainable double-digit growth and a strong cash flow profile, we will generate significant excess capital.

“We are actively executing on our capital allocation priorities as we paid down $4.9bn of debt in the quarter and repurchased $203m of our shares, or 27 per cent of our total buyback authorisation, in just five months.

“As we look forward, we will continue to drive operational excellence throughout our organisation, creating a strong foundation for growth.”