Keywords Studios PLC on Wednesday said it is ‘confident’ that 2022 performance will be ahead of current market expectations, as both interim revenue and profit are estimated to have risen by double-digits.
Keywords also said it has agreed to buy a video game service provider and completed the acquisition of Forgotten Empires LLC.
The Dublin-based technical and creative services provider to the video game industry said it estimates revenue for the six months that ended on June 30 to be about €320 million, representing a 34% rise from €238.7 million a year earlier ‘with robust demand for all of the group’s services,’ it noted.
Adjusted pretax profit is expected to be reported about €54.0 million, up 35% from €39.7 million, reflecting a strong margin of 17% compared to 16.6% a year earlier.
Chief Executive Officer Bertrand Bodson said: ‘Keywords has started the year very strongly, building on the momentum achieved in 2021 as we continue to benefit from a renewed focus on content creation post pandemic and the structural trends towards outsourcing.’
As at June 30, Keywords had net cash of €121.0 million, up from €105.6 million on December 31.
Looking ahead, Keywords said it is confident to deliver a full-year performance ‘comfortably ahead’ of current market expectations, though it said it expects margins to ease back to historic levels about 15% amid investment.
In a separate announcement, Keywords said it has agreed to buy Mighty Games Group Pty Ltd for up to A$10.0 million, with an initial cash consideration of A$4.8 million.
Mighty Games, based in Melbourne, Australia, specialises in the development of automated games testing solutions including its Build and Test platform, which uses AI technology to automatically detect bugs, test code and report errors on a 24/7 basis.
Keywords also said it has completed the acquisition of Forgotten Empires. In June, Keywords said it would pay up to $32.5 million for the US game development studio. Keywords said these acquisitions will ‘further the group’s strategy to become the go-to technical and creative services platform for the global video games industry.’
Shares were up 6.5% at 2,611.02 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
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