Keywords' 2018 revenues surpass €250m

Keywords Studios has enjoyed a strong year, with group revenues up 66% to €250.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.

The results are in line with an unaudited trading update it released earlier this year, and show adjusted profit before tax increased by 65% year-on-year to €37.9 million, up from €23 million.

The group has developed a net debt of €0.4 million, as opposed to the €11.1 million in net cash it reported at the end of 2017. However, Keywords notes this is after payment of €24.9 million net cash consideration for acquisitions, plus €4.5 million of other acquisition costs and integration expenses.

Keywords has, of course, become known for acquiring countless other services firms to expand its own offering. It purchased eight firms last year and it has already acquired marketing specialist Sunny Side Up and user retention service GetSocial since the start of 2019.

Looking forward, the firm says it's looking at a "healthy pipeline of acquisition opportunities." In particular, it's planning to build up its marketing, engineering and audio services.

"We have started 2019 promisingly, and we are seeing good overall demand for our services across the Group," said CEO Andrew Day. "We are actively reviewing acquisitions from which we will continue to be selective, with many businesses excited about the strong platform Keywords could potentially provide for their services and people.

"This, combined with the likely increase in demand for content driven by the arrival of games subscription and streaming services from new entrants such as Apple and Google, give us confidence in the outcome for the full year."