Light & Wonder (L&W) has reported its Q2 result for 2022, showing a 5% annual increase in consolidated revenue to $610m. The company returned a total of $203m in capital to shareholders through share repurchases – this represents 27% of the total program authorization.
L&W closed a major sale of its lottery business which generated $5.7bn in gross cash proceeds. When combined with the planned sale of the company’s sports betting business by the end of this year's Q3, L&W is taking strides to change its financial structuring.
The company reported a reduction in principal face value of outstanding debt to $4bn with net debt leverage of 3.6x. This is seven times lower than the net debt leverage at the start of the year.
L&W CEO and President Barry Cottle was pleased with these results and believe they indicate that great progress is being made. He commented: “We have achieved a significant milestone in the transformation of our organization. We now have all the pieces in place and are singularly focused on building great games fully cross-platform.
“We recently hosted our inaugural investor day and detailed a roadmap for taking market share and unlocking tremendous value in a $70bn total addressable market.”
The company’s focus is firmly on reformation of its finances, as it has now paid $4.9bn of its debt in a period of just five months.
L&W CFO Connie James commented: “The pace and scale of the business and financial transformation over the past year has been incredible. This quarter was no exception as our teams successfully closed on the lottery business sale and refinancing transactions. Collectively, these transactions have transformed our balance sheet.
“With our reconstituted balance sheet, we have the financial flexibility to invest in our largest growth opportunities to drive the business forward.”
