Games developer on a roll this year
News on 25 Aug 2017
News on 25 Aug 2017
Online gambling games developer Yggdrasil, a subsidiary of the Cherry Group, reported a positive Q2 and H1 performance this week, noting the following highlights:
* Revenues for the quarter increased by 103 percent YoY to SEK 40.4 million (19.9)
* EBITDA for the quarter increased to SEK 18 million (9.8) with a margin of 44 percent
* The number of player transactions (rounds) increased by 84 percent YoY to 801 million
* Mobile gaming has now grown to be 56 percent of total gross game win
* The company Launched for the first time in the Italian regulated market with GVC brands
* Four new games were released: Power Plant, Sunny Shores and Spiña Colada, as well as an exclusive game for Betsson Group: Trolls Bridge
* Yggdrasil Gaming Sweden AB established
* Hired a CTO and CSO for the first time
* 14 new licence agreements were signed with new operators
* Launch of revamped platform iSENSE 2.0+
* For the half year, revenues increased by 116 percent to SEK 73.8 million (34.1)
* EBITDA improved significantly by 76 percent and amounted to SEK 31.2 million (17.7) with a margin of 42 percent
* Player transaction (rounds) increased by 99 percent to 1.5 billion rounds
* Released 7 new games
* Signed 24 new operators, including William Hill
* Launch of Yggdrasil Dragons, a business initiative to enter mutually beneficial partnerships with entrepreneurs and gaming businesses
* Andrew Pegler appointed chief commercial officer Gibraltar while Krzysztof Opałka promoted to chief product officer
* Announced the ground-breaking game mechanic Fusion RealmsHeld a successful ICE event with a spectacular stand that stood Yggdrasil apart from the rest of the industry
* Yggdrasil signed a content agreement with Betfred
* The company’s largest jackpot yet, Euro 5.2 million, dropped on the game Empire Fortune
* Released two new games, Rainbow Ryan and Valley of the Gods
CEO Fredrik Elmqvist said in his report that the company’s growth continued, with Q2 revenues up 103 percent y-o-y at over Euro 40 million for the first time
He revealed that Yggdrasil has been expanding its regulated footprint in recent months, and investments in new markets, including the UK, are now generating revenues. Investment was the focus of the second quarter, he said, pointing to developments in new markets, new games, new product features and new infrastructure, including the establishment of Yggdrasil Gaming Sweden AB.
“We have also focused upon the reorganisation of the company to allow us to scale, with our CSO, CPO and CTO functions now restructured to clarify responsibilities and duties,” Elqvist said “This work has been fundamental in highlighting necessary recruitment… where we continue to look for new, talented people.
“During the second quarter, we successfully recruited or contracted 23 people, boosting the Yggdrasil team to 143 by the end of June, with more to follow in the coming months.
“Costs are rising, which is necessary for us [not only] to deliver upon our ambitions, but to be able to deliver an operating profit of more than 15 million SEK for the second quarter.”
Elmqvist concluded by claiming that in the first six months of 2017 the company’s performance has exceeded expectations shows that we remain focused on the bottom line.
The first six months of the year have exceeded expectations, and promised continued focus with new games and features set for launch in the second half of the year.
