Glu's 2016 revenues just surpass $200m
Mobile games giant exceeds booking expectations for Q4, but full-year results still down $50m compared to 2015
Glu Mobile's latest financial results show year-on-year decline despite a healthy fourth quarter.
Revenues for the 12 months ended December 31st, 2016 came in at $200.6m, down from $249.9m last year. Total bookings shows less decline, down from $242.2m to $214m.
Bookings for the fourth quarter exceeded expectations and remained largely flat, reported at $57.8m for the last three months of 2016 - just $100,000 short of what the company achieved in the same period last year. However, Q4 revenues saw a steeper decline at $46.3m compared to $61m in 2015.
Glu's performance may have been significantly worse if not for the successful launch of Design Home in November, a title from the newly acquired studio Crowdstar. CEO Nick Earl said in a statement that this title, combined with Crowdstar's Covet Fashion and the ongoing success of Glu's Cooking Dash, Gordon Ramsay, Kim Kardashian, Deer Hunter and Tap Sports Baseball games were the primary drivers behind the company's Q4 results.
Looking forward, the firm now hopes to achieve bookings of between $53m and $55m for Q1 2017, and between $215m and $225m for the full year. It does not predict revenues for either period.
The financial results show the continued decline of Glu Mobile after its strategy to focus on celebrity-branded games faltered in 2015. After the success of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, the company invested in multiple big name brands, including Katy Perry and James Bond, but these titles were unable to generate the same level of revenues as the Kardashian game.
That said, the company is not turning its back on celebrity branding altogether. Alongside its latest fiscal results, Glu has announced a multi-year partnership with the MLB, both the MLB's Players Association and Players Alumni Association and Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant to add new content to Tap Sports Baseball.
Glu Mobile is currently restructuring to account for its decline, with more than 100 layoffs planned and the closure of two studios revealed last month.