Developer, manufacturer, and distributor of products for the international gaming industry International Game Technology PLC reported today its financial results for the quarter and the year ended December 31, 2015. Quarterly revenue was up 44% year-on-year to $1.4 billion. Full-year revenue amounted to $4.7 billion, up 23% as compared to the $3.8 billion posted for 2014.
The company said that the considerable revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 could mainly be attributed to strong sales of its product offering, sustained growth in the lottery segment, and continued progress towards the stabilization of the international casino installed base. During the three months ended December 31, 2015, the manufacturer sold a total of 11,562 gaming machines.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 40% in the fourth quarter of the year to reach $449 million. Annual adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.6 billion, up 16% year-on-year.
Quarterly adjusted operating income amounted to $293 million, up 61% from the $182 million posted for the same period of 2014. Full-year adjusted operating income increased 22% year-on-year to $1 billion.
Operating income totaled $132 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015, representing an increase of 15%. IGT said that both its quarterly adjusted EBITDA and operating income benefited from a multi-year VAT credit in Italy as well as the removal of lottery management agreement penalties that had quite a negative effect on operating income in the fourth quarter of 2014. Full-year operating income was down 24% to $540 million. The drop was attributed to weaker commercial gaming trends as well as additional taxes in Italy, with the latter being partly offset by certain synergy savings.
During the fourth quarter of the year, IGT’s North America Gaming & Interactive Division generated revenue of $378 million, up from the $45 million posted for the same period of 2014. Operating income amounted to $106 million, up from the $8 million generated in the previous year.
Revenue from the North America Lottery segment amounted to $269 million in the three months ended December 31, 2015, up 20% year-on-year. Operating income increased to $43 million from the $17 million posted for the same quarter of the previous year.
Revenue from international operations totaled $265 million compared to $192 million generated in the fourth quarter of 2014. Operating income from the segment amounted to $55 million, down from the $61 million reported for the same period of the previous year.
In Italy, revenue of $455 million was generated in the final quarter of 2015, representing a decline from the $489 million reported for 2014. Operating income increased 17% in the three months ended December 31, 2015 to reach $132 million.
Commenting on the company’s financial performance, IGT CEO Marco Sala said that they ended a transformative year with strong quarterly results in the lottery and gaming segments. Mr. Sala further noted that they believe they have built a solid foundation that will allow them to continue growing the business and further establish the company as a leader in the global gaming market.
The excellent results the company posted can be attributed to a great extent to IGT’s merger with GTECH S.p.A., which was completed in April of last year. The two business combined their operations to create a leader in the provision of end-to-end solutions for all channels.
