Starbreeze Studios report pre-tax loss of $22.2m for 2017
New share issue worth $29.9 million to keep company afloat until release of delayed Walking Dead title
The latest full year financial report from Starbreeze Studios show a pre-tax loss of $22.2 million in 2017, compared to $7 million in 2016.
CEO Bo Anderson Klint commented that Starbreeze will show negative EBITDA and/or cash flow until the release Overkill's The Walking Dead (OTWD) toward the end of 2018.
The game was was delayed last year, leaving Starbreeze with the need secure $9.4 million until its release. In order to finance the project, Starbreeze executed a new share issue worth $29.9 million.
"After this capital raising, we have the funds we need to both execute our plan to achieve revenue of at least $251.8 million in 2020 and grasp several business opportunities that we believe are going to create significant value for our shareholders," said Klint.
Despite the reported loss, net sales for the year were up by 4.6% to $45.5 million with a mixed but overall positive performance from the company's two lead titles.
Payday 2 generated $15.1 million in revenue, down by 25.9% from $20.4 million the year prior.
Meanwhile, Dead by Daylight was up by 40.3% to $25.4 million from $18.1 million, with Klint describing it as the company's "star performer", adding that it proved "the strength of our games-as-a-service concept".
The fourth quarter was the company's best performance to-date in terms of revenue, with net sales above $12.6 million, delivering a sales growth of 4.4% and positive EBITDA of $806,336. This was despite the lacklustre performance of Raid: World War II, which resulted in an impairment loss of $2.5 million.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2017 amounted to $29.4 million, down by 65% from $84.3 million in 2016. The board of directors is proposing no dividend for the 2017 financial year.