Rovio has posted their 2012 financials which stated what most expected: Solid growth, and an increase in merchandizing. It doesn’t need to be said, but in 2012 Rovio was busy with game development and merchandizing. They launched four titles Angry Birds Space, Amazing Alex, Bad Piggies and Angry Birds Star Wars, which helped them hit 1 billion total Rovio game downloads last May.
Taken straight from the press release, the significant digits are:
Total consolidated full year revenue grew by 101%, driven by a healthy growth in games revenue and consumer product sales, and amounted to €152.2 million (2011: €75.6 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were €76.8 million (2011: €46.9 million), up 64% from year 2011, and net profit after tax was €55.5 million (2011: €35.4 million).
Rovio’s consumer products, like stuffed toys and sugar water, resulted in 45% of Rovio’s total revenue. Last year it accounted for 30%. But with these merchandizing efforts, Rovio CFO Herkko Soininen said, “…to protect our own, as well as our partners’ and our fans’ interests, we continue to invest heavily in brand protection globally,” which isn’t an angle we’ve heard much about.
€152 million isn’t bad, especially at a 50% EBIT margin but it’s much more realistic than what Marketwatch and others reported as €1.5 billion in revenue, after misunderstanding one of Rovio CMO Peter Vesterbacka’s statements.
The next interesting number for the Finnish gaming community to watch is Supercell, who by all accounts must be posting more huge numbers and an even crazier profit margin. We’ll keep you posted.
