The six months to 30 June proved a busy period for Gaming Realms, launching with 25 new partners worldwide. Highlights include going live with Bet365 in the UK and PokerStars in New Jersey.
The developer has also set its sights on moving into additional markets, submitting licence applications in British Columbia and South Africa. Add this to approval in Sweden in H1, as well as an expanded deal with Bet365, and Gaming Realms’ ambitious growth plans are clear.
With this, Gaming Realms expects strong momentum from H1 to continue into the second half. This, the developer says, will be driven by new market launches including its recent roll-out in Portugal and expected approval in other areas.
“We have delivered a strong first half performance as we have grown our international licensing business with the launch of our innovative Slingo content to a growing number of partners and players,” Gaming Realms CEO Mark Segal said.
Licensing growth drives revenue up at Gaming Realms
Year-on-year revenue growth of 35.3% was driven by the developer’s core content licensing business.
Licensing segment revenue hiked 46.3% to £9.8m. This includes £8.8m in licensing revenue and a further £1.0m worth of brand licensing revenue.
Gaming Realms highlighted it launched with a further 25 partners in existing markets within Europe and North America. The developer also noted its new Swedish licence and expected approval in British Columbia and South Africa.
The remaining £1.8m in revenue came from its social business, down by 2.2% year-on-year. Gaming Realms says social remains a segment where it can further monetise its portfolio of Slingo titles.
Net profit rockets 81% to £2.5m
Turning to costs, spending was higher across the board in H1. Administrative expenses were the main outgoing at £4.1m, while marketing and operating costs jumped year-on-year.
Gaming Realms also saw higher share option and related charges, amortisation of intangible assets and depreciation costs. However, finance expenses were lower while finance income edged up.
As such, pre-tax profit amounted to £2.4m, a 71.4% increase from £1.4m last year. Gaming Realms also noted an income tax credit of £159,578. This left a net profit of £2.5m, an 80.6% rise from £1.4m in 2022.
In addition, the developer said that EBITDA was 36.7% higher at £4.5m, a new record for the group.
“The group has a strong pipeline of new business and the outlook for the group remains positive,” Segal said.
“We are seeing growth in our existing partnerships coupled with new operator, product and market launches. This gives us great confidence in terms of the longer-term prospects for the business.”
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/half-year-results/gaming-realms-forecasts-further-growth-after-record-h1/
