Light & Wonder reports its best-ever year with systems, slots and table gaming all up
Light & Wonder generated its best-ever year of results last year with record full-year consolidated revenue of $3.2bn, increasing 10 per cent, with annual growth driven by continued strong performance across all businesses.
Gaming revenue increased to $2.1bn, up 12 per cent, driven by continued momentum in Gaming machine sales, which increased 22 per cent primarily on market share gains in North America and Australia, coupled with Gaming systems growth of 13 per cent driven by our innovative hardware and software solutions, and North American Gaming operations unit expansion driving four per cent growth in Gaming Operations fueled by the improving performance of L&W’s diverse portfolio of hit franchises.
In the fourth quarter, gaming systems grew by 24 per cent, table products by 10 per cent and gaming operations by four per cent, which benefited from nine per cent year-over-year growth in L&W’s North American installed base to 34,004 units, as well as elevated average daily revenue per unit at $47.25. The company’s North American premium installed base grew for the 18th consecutive quarter, representing 50 per cent of the total North American installed base mix. Gaming systems growth was driven by increased global hardware sales. L&W’s diversified portfolio of successful game franchises and the success of its COSMIC, MURAL and HORIZON cabinets continued to drive growth and strong performance in our Gaming business. Gaming AEBITDA was $257 million, up five per cent compared to the prior year period, primarily driven by revenue growth in the period, as well as margin improvement of 100 basis points.
For the year as a whole, SciPlay revenue rose to $821m, up six per cent, and once again outpaced social casino market revenue growth, delivered record payer metrics and expanded our direct-to-consumer high margin revenue channel, which was approximately 11 per cent of total SciPlay revenue.
iGaming revenue increased nine per cent during the year to $299m reflecting continued growth momentum in the U.S. and international markets driven by our industry-leading platforms and strong content launches.
Matt Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Light & Wonder, said: “We ended a strong 2024 with continued double-digit revenue and earnings growth for the year. The Gaming machine sales share gains in North America and Australia this year are a testament to our R&D investment, commercial strategy and robust product roadmap. Furthermore, we have also realigned studio needs, adding more talent and expanding existing studios. Our recently announced strategic acquisition of Grover Gaming’s charitable business enhances our cross-platform strategy and presence in regulated land-based markets, giving us a broader distribution base for our vast content library and accelerating our drive for sustainable future growth.”
Oliver Chow, Chief Financial Officer of Light & Wonder, added: “Our healthy financial foundation gives us flexibility to deploy capital where it best drives long-term value consistent with our capital deployment framework. We expect that the acquisition of Grover Gaming’s charitable business will contribute to our expansive recurring revenue base and is complementary and synergistic to our high margin and cash generative business, enhancing our growth profile and cross-platform strategy. We continue to see tremendous value in our shares and have executed a meaningful $462m in share repurchases in 2024. We believe our healthy earnings growth and further optimization of our capital structure will continue to serve us well and provide stability as we expand the business globally.”
