DoubleDown continues to drive IGT online revenues
Interactive revenues hit $74.6m, aided by 57% Q1 increase in revenues from social gaming division
A strong performance from International Game Technology’s (IGT) social gaming business helped the company record a 41% year-on-year rise in online revenues for the three months ended 31 December.
DoubleDown Interactive was able to offset a 16% fall in IGTi revenues after reporting income of US$64.8m for the first quarter, a 57% year-on-year increase compared to the $41.3m it posted for the corresponding period last year.
This rise was driven by uplift in both daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU), which grew 17% and 26% respectively year-on-year to 1.7m and 6.2m respectively, while bookings per DAU increased by 35% to $0.42.
DoubleDown’s mobile channel continued to outperform desktop with revenues increasing 8% quarter-on-quarter.
Total revenues across IGT’s global business reached $541m in the quarter, up from $530.3m in Q4, while adjusted operating income fell by 10% to $123.8m.
DoubleDown Interactive, which was acquired by IGT in January 2012 for up to $500m, also grew 6% sequentially in both overall and mobile revenues after the successful launch of games Monopoly Slots and Golden Goddess.
“Looking forward, we remain confident in DoubleDown’s growth potential, propelled by a continuously improving customer experience, higher mobile revenues, international expansion and enhanced product offerings,” John Vandemore, chief financial officer at IGT, said.
According to boutique market research firm Eilers Research, DoubleDown has overtaken Zynga as the world’s second largest publisher of social casino games with a 14% share of the market.
In an analyst call following the results, Vandemore also highlighted the potential of the recently regulated New Jersey online gambling market after IGT’s North American interactive revenues were boosted by the launch.
“We are optimistic that the New Jersey casino style model will become a successful example for other states to follow,” he said. “IGT is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this opportunity, given the breadth of our premium product portfolio and our proven track record in real money wagering outside the United States.”
The latest results from the casino supplier follow the official departure of Robert Melendres, IGT’s executive vice-president of interactive, who left the company at the start of year.