International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Domenico Ghilotti: Thank you.

Max Chiara: I couldn’t detail even more.

Operator: Our final question comes from Jemma Permalloo from JPMorgan. Please proceed.

Jemma Permalloo: Hi, good morning and congrats on the quarter. I just had one follow-up question. Going back to your comments about the financial ratios with respect to that one of an IG rating and granted I think some of your metrics are already there. But I remember in the past when I asked the question you commented that getting to an IG rating would be great but it was not a priority for IGT. So I just wanted to understand, if there’s been a slight change in maybe your commitment to trying to get to an IG rating because obviously that will mean a cheaper cost of capital as well. Appreciate your thoughts there. Thank you.

Max Chiara: Yes. Look I think at the end of the day it’s a matter of where you land on the metrics. And if you have an ability to stay in that investment-grade metrics, it’s commensurate with it to target investment-grade rating. The truth of the matter is COVID has taught us a lesson, low levered companies are probably better positioned to weather storms — unexpected storms than high-level companies. And so with that philosophy in mind the importance of maintaining a tight control and on cost and on cash, and target those metrics is definitely supporting our value generation trajectory.

Jemma Permalloo: Thank you.

Operator: I would now like to turn the call over to Vince Sadusky for closing remarks.

Vince Sadusky: Great. Thank you all for joining us today. As we’ve summarized 2022 was a strong year for us and we had really good momentum across the enterprise. A reminder that leverage is at its lowest level ever for the company and we returned record capital to shareholders. I think importantly over the last three years we’ve successfully transformed IGT into a company with higher growth prospects and a better profit profile. In 2023, we’re starting from a position of strength and we feel we’re on a solid path to delivering on our long-term goals. And our first quarter outlook reflects the good trends we’re experiencing for all of lottery gaming and PlayDigital. We appreciate your interest in IGT and we look forward to meeting many of you in the coming weeks. Have a great day.

Operator: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today’s call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.