Casino software group NetEnt has posted their interim financial report for the first half of 2019, with the group reporting that revenues slipped, largely due to issues in Sweden.
Key financial indicators for the first half ending June 30th, 2019 were:
- Revenues of SEK 837 million, down 3.4% from the year prior
- Markets outside Sweden saw revenues up 1.7%
- New markets generated 49% of revenues during the period
- 16 new licensing agreements were signed during the half
- 19 new casinos launched with NetEnt software
- Expenses down to SEK581.4 million, largely due to a decrease in personnel experiences
- Operating expenses down to SEK191.5 million
- Costs related to depreciation and amortisation was up to SEK141.3 million
- Operating profits of SEK256.1 million, down 9.5%
- Pre-tax profits down to SEK261.8 million
Despite the lower revenues, NetEnt CEO Therese Hillman was optimistic, noting: "Now we take the next step in developing our technical platform as we are creating an open platform with new types of functionality and aggregation of third-party content for operators, services that will be launched on a broader scale during 2020. The transformation of live casino continues at full speed and we added several new functions during the quarter to make our product more competitive. The customer response is positive, and we expect growth in the coming quarters from this segment, but it will take a few more quarters before we can see more meaningful revenues.
"The industry is going through significant changes, and we see opportunities to strengthen our position in all our markets. Through our strategy to invest in increased game production, a technical platform featuring more functionality, and live casino - supported by our brand, global distribution and customer relations - we have the right basis to defend, and over the longer term increase our market shares."
Comments
Well if there is any provider that can pull out of a first half funk and skyrocket themselves too the top spot in the second half its NetEnt.
They earned a little less and invested a lot more, probably.
If Netent is worried about the revenue down, they can give access to their games for a few restricted countries 😀 It might be a little help 🙂
Sweden is a major drag it seems as these groups adjust to regulated life. Hopefully American expansion will perk them up a bit.