Nevada’s IGT, a manufacturer of slots and other machine-based casino games, today reported its best first-quarter performance in four years.
Officials at the Reno-based company told investors that the increase in overall income was spurred by North American sales and social gaming. Besides selling games, IGT also leases them to casinos. Its leased game operations saw a 4 percent decline, partly caused by lower revenues for its MegaJackpots titles.
Among the company’s highlights for the first quarter of fiscal 2013:
• Revenue increased 19 percent over last year, from $445.5 million to $530 million.
• Income from North American product sales jumped 54 percent. This was primarily attributed to an increase in sales of video lottery terminals in new Canadian and Illinois gaming markets.
• Social gaming revenue increased 15 percent from the fourth quarter of last year to $41 million, as IGT's Double Down Casino became the third-largest grossing app on Facebook and the No. 6 highest earning app on the iPad. Like most gaming companies, IGT began offering casino games on social media sites in recent years to increase the company's reach and profits.
“We are making progress in many areas,” CEO Patti Hart said. “In a challenging environment, our franchise continues to lead the market. We are building on a stable foundation that will only get better.”