Rovio Entertainment Corporation Stock Exchange Release August 8, 2019 at 8.30 a.m. EEST
Games revenue grew 7.8% in H1 2019 and was stable in Q2, Angry Birds Dream Blast continued growing
April-June 2019 highlights
- Rovio’s revenue was EUR 71.8 million (71.8) and thus stable year-on-year; In comparable currencies, the revenue declined by approximately 3%
- Rovio’s newest game Angry Birds Dream Blast, launched on 24th January 2019, had gross bookings of EUR 14.0 million and became Rovio’s second largest game
- Games revenue in Q2 was EUR 65.4 million (65.3) or 0.2% growth year-on-year. In comparable currencies, the revenue declined by approximately 4%. The Games gross bookings were EUR 65.2 million (64.8) or 0.6% growth year-on-year and in comparable currencies the gross bookings declined by approximately 3%.
- User acquisition investments were EUR 21.3 million (22.9), or 32.6% of the Games segment’s revenue (35.1%)
- Brand Licensing revenue was EUR 6.4 million (6.5) or -2.0% lower year-on-year
- Group adjusted operating profit was EUR 5.3 million (6.0) and adjusted operating profit margin 7.4% (8.4%)
- Group adjusted operating profit excluding Hatch Entertainment was EUR 8.1 million (7.5) and adjusted operating profit margin 11.3% (10.4%)
- Operating cash flow was EUR 4.8 million (1.8)
- Earnings per share was EUR 0.04 (0.07)
January-June 2019 highlights
- Rovio’s revenue was EUR 142.6 million (137.5) or 3.8% growth year-on-year; in comparable currencies, the revenue was approximately at the same level year-on-year
- Rovio’s newest game Angry Birds Dream Blast, launched on 24th January 2019, had total gross bookings of EUR 20.9 million during the second half of 2019 and is trending towards EUR 50 million for the full year
- Games revenue grew 7.8% to EUR 131.7 million (122.1). In comparable currencies, the revenue growth was approximately 3%. The Games gross bookings were EUR 131.0 million (123.4) or 6.2% growth year-on-year and in comparable currencies the growth was approximately 1%.
- User acquisition investments were EUR 45.1 million (37.5), or 34.2% of the Games segment’s revenue (30.7%)
- Brand Licensing revenue was EUR 11.0 million (15.4) or 28.7% lower year-on-year, as expected
- Group adjusted operating profit was EUR 12.8 million (15.6) and adjusted operating profit margin 9.0% (11.3%)
- Group adjusted operating profit excluding Hatch Entertainment was EUR 17.4 million (18.3) and adjusted operating profit margin 12.2% (13.3%)
- Operating cash flow was EUR 8.0 million (12.3)
- Earnings per share was EUR 0.11 (0.16)
Key figures
| 4-6 | 4–6/ | Change, | 1-6/ | 1-6/ | Change, | 1–12/ | |
| EUR million | 2019 | 2018 | % | 2019 | 2018 | % | 2018 |
| Revenue | 71.8 | 71.8 | 0.0% | 142.6 | 137.5 | 3.8% | 281.2 |
| EBITDA* | 9.6 | 9.3 | 3.8% | 20.1 | 23.6 | -14.7% | 47.8 |
| EBITDA margin* | 13.4% | 12.9% | - | 14.1% | 17.1% | - | 17.0% |
| Adjusted EBITDA* | 9.6 | 9.3 | 3.8% | 20.1 | 23.9 | -15.9% | 47.5 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, %* | 13.4% | 12.9% | - | 14.1% | 17.4% | - | 16.9% |
| Operating profit* | 5.3 | 6.0 | -11.3% | 12.8 | 15.2 | -16.1% | 31.5 |
| Operating profit margin, %* | 7.4% | 8.4% | - | 9.0% | 11.1% | - | 11.2% |
| Adjusted operating profit* | 5.3 | 6.0 | -11.3% | 12.8 | 15.6 | -17.9% | 31.2 |
| Adjusted operating profit margin, %* | 7.4% | 8.4% | - | 9.0% | 11.3% | - | 11.1% |
| Profit before tax | 4.8 | 6.8 | -29.4% | 12.4 | 15.8 | -21.8% | 32.2 |
| Capital expenditure | 1.0 | 0.0 | N/A | 1.6 | 0.3 | 369.0% | 1.3 |
| User acquisition | 21.3 | 22.9 | -6.9% | 45.1 | 37.5 | 20.2% | 78.6 |
| Return on equity (ROE), % | 18.5% | 20.6% | - | 18.5% | 20.6% | - | 21.5% |
| Net gearing ratio, %* | -66.8% | -63.9% | - | -66.8% | -63.9% | - | -75.3% |
| Equity ratio, %* | 79.6% | 83.4% | - | 79.6% | 83.4% | - | 83.7% |
| Earnings per share, EUR | 0.04 | 0.07 | -45.1% | 0.11 | 0.16 | -28.1% | 0.31 |
| Earnings per share, diluted EUR | 0.04 | 0.07 | -45.0% | 0.11 | 0.15 | -28.0% | 0.31 |
| Net cash flows from operating activities* | 4.8 | 1.8 | 162.4% | 8.0 | 12.3 | -34.7% | 42.6 |
| Employees (average for the period) | 448 | 379 | 18.2% | 435 | 382 | 13.9% | 388 |
*Not fully comparable due to IFRS 16 adoption in 2019. See Note 1 for details.
Unless otherwise stated, the comparison figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in the previous year. Calculations and definitions are presented in the Performance Measures section.
The changes in comparable currencies have been calculated by translating the reporting period figures with the average USD/EUR exchange rates of the comparison period for the US dollar dominated in-app-purchases in United States and global ad network sales.
Kati Levoranta, CEO:
Rovio’s revenue in the second quarter of 2019 was EUR 71.8 (71.8) million and thus, stable year-on-year. Rovio games revenue was EUR 65.4 million and similar to last years’ period (65.3). The newest game in Rovio’s portfolio, Angry Birds Dream Blast, continued to grow and reached EUR 14.0 million gross bookings and became Rovio’s 2nd largest game in the quarter. We are happy with how Angry Birds Dream Blast has developed and that it is now trending towards EUR 50 million for the full year. The gross bookings of Angry Birds 2, Rovio’s largest game, declined year-on-year to EUR 26.5 million (29.7) due to much lower user acquisition investments in the period as UA investments were optimized across the key games. In total, we invested 21.3 million in user acquisition (22.9) which was a bit lower than last year’s period. The lower level of user acquisition impacted the revenues mainly for Angry Birds 2. We expect the large media visibility of the Angry Birds Movie sequel, which starts its global roll-out in August, to enable increasing user acquisition investments for our top games during the second half of the year.
The adjusted operating profit in the reporting period was EUR 5.3 (6.0) million and the adjusted operating profit margin 7.4% (8.4%). The decline in operating profit was attributed to Hatch Entertainment's expansion to new markets along the 5G roll-outs.
We are very excited by our new games pipeline: We have currently 11 games in different phases of development out of which three are in soft launch. We aim to launch at least one game during the second half of 2019.
Brand Licensing unit’s revenue in the second quarter was EUR 6.4 million and thus at the same level as last year (6.5). We expect the Angry Birds Movie sequel and surrounding marketing to boost our licensing business as well as drive users to our Angry Birds games during the second half of 2019. The movie sequel is rolling out globally in August, with the two largest markets of USA and China scheduled for launch on 14th and 16th of August, respectively.
Hatch Entertainment, Rovio’s 80% owned subsidiary developing a game streaming service for mobile and smart TVs, has signed a partnership agreement with Samsung in April and announced partnerships with Vodafone in UK, Spain and Italy. To accelerate its growth, Hatch Entertainment is seeking external funding and further strategic partnerships.
With the launch of the Angry Birds Movie sequel and with several promising games in development, we are thrilled to enter the second half of 2019.
Outlook for 2019 (unchanged)
In 2019, Rovio expects group revenues to grow to EUR 300 – 330 million and adjusted operating profit margin between 9 and 11 per cent.
Basis for outlook
In 2019, Rovio Games business continues developing its live game portfolio according to the Games as a Service strategy, profitable user acquisition and development of new games. Target is to launch at least two new games in 2019 (the first one, Angry Birds Dream Blast, was launched on January 24th). The expected timing of the second launch is during the second half of the year.
The user acquisition investments are expected to be 30-35 percent of Games revenues for the full year with an average payback time of 12 months. The amount of user acquisition may vary depending on development of the games’ monetization, timing of new game launches and the level of competition in the market.
The Brand Licensing segment revenues are expected to be at a similar or slightly higher level in 2019 with focus on the second half of the year when the Angry Birds Movie sequel is scheduled for release.
On group level the largest revenue growth is expected during the second half of 2019. The profit margin excluding Hatch Entertainment is expected to be between 12 and 14 per cent for the full year.
Briefing and audiocast:
Rovio will host an English language audiocast on the 2019 second quarter results, including the Q&A session for investors, media and institutional investors at 14:00-15:00 EEST on August 8th, 2019. The audiocast can be viewed live at: http://www.rovio.com/investors-investor-calendar, and later on the same day as a recording.
ROVIO ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
More information:
Kati Levoranta, CEO, tel. +358 207 888 300
René Lindell, CFO, tel. +358 207 888 300
Distribution:Nasdaq Helsinki, Key media, www.rovio.com
Rovio in brief:
Rovio Entertainment Corporation is a global, games-first entertainment company that creates, develops and publishes mobile games, which have been downloaded 4.5 billion times so far. The Company is best known for the global Angry Birds brand, which started as a popular mobile game in 2009, and has since evolved from games to various entertainment and consumer products in brand licensing. Today, the Company offers multiple mobile games, animations and has produced The Angry Birds Movie, which opened number one in theatres in 50 countries. Its sequel, The Angry Birds Movie 2, releases worldwide starting in August 2019. Rovio is headquartered in Finland and the company's shares are listed on the main list of NASDAQ Helsinki stock exchange with the trading code ROVIO. (www.rovio.com)
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