Gameloft
Publisher reports 11% annual increase in sales.
Gameloft achieved consolidated revenues of €122.0 million for 2009, up by 11% from the previous year. Mobile games accounted for 94% of the company's annual sales, while the console game business covered the remaining 6%.
The solid growth in revenue and good cost control in the company's three departments, Research & Development, Sales & Marketing and Administration, have allowed Gameloft to triple its operating income in 2009. The current operating income for 2009 reached €10.4M compared to €3.3M in 2008. Therefore, the operating margin stands at 8.6%, in line with expectations.
Gameloft continues to benefit from investments in its development and distribution abilities. These investments that enabled Gameloft to grow quickly and to position itself as one of the top industry leaders in the past few years are now also resulting in increased profitability for the company.
The annual impact from expensing stock options is €2.7M. This charge has no impact on the company's equity and cash level.
Interest income amounted to €0.4M and is comprised of exchange gains and interest on the company's cash flow. Therefore, the net annual profit stands at €6.0M, a clear improvement over 2008.
Healthy Financial Position
Gameloft's financial position remains very solid. At 31 December 2009, the company's equity stood at €59.9M, net cash was €19.8M and financial indebtedness zero. Cash generation was particularly strong with over €9.0M in additional cash flow generated during 2009. As a result, Gameloft has the financial resources necessary to continue its rapid growth and take market share around the world.
Outlook for 2010
• Gameloft should continue to win over substantial market share in traditional Java and Brew phones due in particular to the progressive withdrawal of a large number of competitors.
• Gameloft will continue to benefit strongly from the fast adoption of Smartphones by consumers and from the arrival of new dynamic players in the market such as Apple and Palm. As such, the company has positioned itself in the top ranks as a publisher on Apple's App Store with 60 iPhone games released since July 2008 which represented 14% of the company's sales in 2009.
• Gameloft is one of the very few players in the market that has the resources and know-how allowing it to be present with downloadable content for the launch of all the new consoles (iPad, PlayStation Network, Nintendo DSiWare, Nintendo WiiWare, etc.).
Therefore, the company is expecting further growth in 2010 in terms of sales, profitability and cash. In the long term, Gameloft seems in an ideal position to benefit from the rapid emergence of the digital distribution of video games on mobile telephones, tablets, consoles and from major technological innovations brought to the market by companies such as Apple, Nokia, Sony and Nintendo.
Sales for the first quarter of 2010 will be published on 28 April 2010.
About Gameloft
Gameloft designs and publishes video games for mobile telephones and consoles worldwide. Gameloft was founded in 1999 is now positioned as one of the most innovating companies in its field. Gameloft designs games for telephones incorporating the Java, Brew and Symbian technologies, for which the number of units should exceed four billion in 2012. Gameloft games are also available on WiiWare, DS, Microsoft Xbox LIVE Arcade, iPod and PCs.
Partnership agreements with major licensors such as Ubisoft Entertainment, Universal Pictures, ABC, Touchtone Television, Dreamworks Animations SKG, Endemol, 20th Century Fox, Viacom, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., FIFPro, Ferrari, Roland-Garros, Gus Hansen, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Robinho, Reggie Bush, Chuck Norris, Patrick Vieira, Christophe Dominici and Jonny Wilkinson allow Gameloft to associate its games with very strong international brands. In addition to these brands, Gameloft has its own brands, such as Block Breaker Deluxe, Asphalt: Urban GT and New York Nights.
Thanks to agreements with all of the main telecom operators, telephone manufacturers and specialized distributors, as well as its www.gameloft.com boutique, Gameloft's games are distributed in 80 countries.
Gameloft has locations in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Paris, London, Koln, Copenhagen, Milan, Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna, Warsaw, Helsinki, Bucharest, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Peking, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Sydney.
Gameloft is listed in Compartment B of the Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN: FR0000079600, Bloomberg: GFT FP, Reuters: GLFT.PA).
Contact:
Aude Fouquier
European Communication Director
Tel +33 1 58 16 21 55
Mail: aude.fouquier@gameloft.com
For more information, consult www.gameloft.com