Scientific Games Corporation reported a net loss of .3 million for the fourth quarter and 7.5 million for the full year 2016, but its revenue and EBITDA growth coupled with debt reduction and new operating efficiencies put a positive spin on the results.
“Our fourth quarter results marked the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year increases in both revenue and attributable EBITDA, exceeding last year’s strong performance,” said Kevin Sheehan, the company’s chief executive officer, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
Revenue for the quarter grew 2 percent year-over-year to $752 million while attributable EBITDA was flat $294 million.
For the full year, Scientific Games posted 5 percent revenue growth to $2.9 billion and attributable EBITDA of $1.1 billion—a 3 percent jump. The company also paid down the principal on its outstanding debt by $169 million.
The showing for the quarter and the year was driven by strong performance in the company’s interactive segment, which was up 52 percent for the fourth quarter and 58 percent for the full year. While gaming and lottery were slightly down for the quarter, this was attributable in part to unfavorable foreign currency adjustments.
“We continue to refine our business processes to yield greater financial discipline, while ensuring continued investment in innovation to drive profitable growth,” said Michael Quartieri, chief financial officer, adding that process improvement efforts should have a positive impact on margins and cash flow in 2017.
“Overall, the results were in line with the preliminary release and the fundamental outlook for the gaming business appears to be improving along with continued growth in the Interactive,” DeCree of Union Gaming told CDC Reports. DeCree upgraded his target price from $21 to $23 on the heels of higher projected cash flow generation and debt reduction.
