Scientific Games, a major slot machine and lottery company, reported its first-quarter earnings this week.
Company: Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ: SGMS)
Revenue: $682 million, up from $658.7 million in the first quarter of 2015.
Loss: $92.3 million, compared to a net loss of $86.4 million during the same period a year earlier.
Loss per share: $1.07, compared to a net loss of $1.01 per share in the first quarter of 2015.
What it means: Scientific Games said its revenue increase was driven by strong growth in its interactive business segment. But the company said it also faced a $7 million unfavorable currency translation impact, a drop in gaming systems revenue and the expiration of a lottery validation contract in China.
Scientific Games has gaming, lottery and interactive business segments.
Total gaming revenue fell 1 percent in the first quarter to $421.7 million, which the company said included a $4 million unfavorable foreign currency impact.
Lottery revenue, meanwhile, grew 0.9 percent to $187.7 million, despite a $5.1 million hit from the expiration of the China contract and $3 million in unfavorable foreign currency impact, the company said.
In the interactive segment, meanwhile, total revenue grew 55 percent to $72.6 million, which Scientific Games said was mainly due to a 58 percent revenue growth in its social gaming business. The company said it has seen success with its Jackpot Party Social Casino, Quick Hit Slots social game app and Hot Shot Social Casino.
During a conference call with analysts on Thursday, CEO Gavin Isaacs said the interactive segment was the quarter’s “star performer.” He also suggested that Scientific Games’ $5.1 billion merger with Bally Technologies in 2014 has gone over well.
“Overall, I am pleased with our progress in the execution of our business strategies,” Isaacs said. “With the bulk of our integration process behind, it is great to see the team coming together and the momentum building.”