Scientific Games, a casino technology firm based in the United States, is still fighting a losing battle. The company is well-known for providing technology, including electronic gaming consoles, for use in land-based casinos. However, 2018’s financial report was virtually a total disaster due to widespread losses.
A 2019 report showed improvement, but the company was still losing money. In total, losses for the year came to $118 million, down from $352 million the year before.
Antitrust action naturally led to a disastrous year for the company in 2018. To end the crisis, $183 million had to be taken out of reserve.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, the company made a net profit, and this trend continued into the final quarter of 2018. The company posted a net profit of $207 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year, but a loss of $37 million in the same period this year.
Focusing in
Examining the 2019 report in greater detail reveals both the company’s successes and failures. Quarterly revenue as a whole was down 2.6%, which is not trivial. The sum was $863 million, down from $886 million the year before. According to a company spokeswoman, this is because fewer full-system launches have been launched in Canada and fewer electronic gaming consoles are being sold.
However, it is noteworthy that annual casino income in 2019 increased by approximately 1%. Totaling $3.4 billion was the sum total. Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA fell from $343 million to $328 million, a decrease of 4.3%.
Prioritize Internal Expansion
Michael Quartieri, CFO of Scientific Games, provided some further context for the study. First, he was quick to highlight the significant progress made toward the year’s core goal—the reduction of debt. He emphasized that a reduction in debt of more than $460 million was nothing to sneeze at. He continued by saying that two successful refinancing deals would significantly cut cash interest over the next few years.
In addition, Quartieri stated that the company’s focus was still primarily on two operational areas. The first was increasing organic growth, which was crucial to the company’s continued success in the long run. The second was the pursuit of untapped market prospects that may increase the casino’s bottom line.
Significant Advances Were Made
Barry Cottle, CEO of Scientific Games, chimed in with his own take. He emphasized the great gains that had been made in 2019: groundbreaking casino games had been created, top talent had been brought to development teams, and the company’s overall financing structure had been vastly enhanced.
Cottle continued by saying that he had faith in the organization’s ability to reverse its fortunes and become the undisputed global leader in lottery sales, in-person sports betting, and casino gaming. He reassured the audience that they could count on the company to keep delivering innovative products that would set new standards in their respective markets.
Cottle continued by highlighting the company’s recent string of major acquisitions and declaring that they prove Scientific Games is well positioned to dominate the land-based gaming sector.
It’s unclear if Cottle’s claims are true and the corporation is indeed making a comeback. However, things have turned around dramatically for the company.