CEO Marcus Teilman comments: ”After a transformative 2023 during which Fragbite Group made a number of very significant investments, we have laid the groundwork for 2024 to be a year to remember.”
Fourth quarter 2023
- Revenue amounted to SEK 60.4 (73.2) million.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 5.1 (5.8) million.
- Operational EBIT* amounted to SEK 2.5 (4.0) million.
- Net result after tax was SEK 18.5 (-27.6) million.
- Earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK 0.16 (-0.30).
Full year 2023
- Revenue amounted to SEK 237.2 (254.1) million.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 16.2 (11.9) million.
- Adjusted EBITDA (before items affecting comparability) was SEK 16.2 (12.8) million.
- Operational EBIT* amounted to SEK 8.0 (5.3) million.
- Net result after tax was SEK -53.1 (-103.1) million.
- Earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK -0.47 (-1.10).
* Operational EBIT is defined as EBIT excluding non-operational amortisation and impairment of intangible assets.
Significant events during the quarter
- Playdigious enters into an agreement for distribution of Dead Cells via Netflix’ global platform.
- Fragbite Group acquires Fall Damage Studio AB.
- Fragbite Group carries out a directed issue and enters into loan agreements.
- Fragbite AB signs Tele2 for a two-year sponsorship of the Swedish Cup.
- Playdigious releases Shapez on mobile platforms.
- Playdigious releases Little Nightmares on mobile platforms.
- Playdigious releases Dungeon of the Endless in China.
- Wagmi carries out a private sale of $KOBAN tokens of EUR 800,000.
Significant events after the end of the period
- Herdjie Zhou transitions to Senior Advisor for Fragbite Group with a focus on web3 revenue generation. Board member Zara Zamani is appointed as acting CEO of Lucky Kat.
- Playdigious releases Potion Permit on mobile platforms.
- Playdigious announces the upcoming release of Loop Hero on mobile platforms.
- Playdigious enters into an agreement for publishing Linkito under Playdigious Originals.
CEO Marcus Teilman comments
In October, we completed the acquisition of Fall Damage, a company we have welcomed into the Fragbite Group family with great pride. The four founders, all former Dice veterans, and their team bring experience and knowledge at an exceptionally high level. The integration into Fragbite Group has exceeded expectations and we have identified many synergies in a short time. The tactical First Person Shooter game ALARA Prime is developing according to plan and we continue to fine-tune the game, through among other things consistent, qualitative gametests. As I have mentioned before, ALARA Prime will be a unique game on the market within this genre. The game is both action-packed and has a high degree of tactical elements, largely due to the uniqueness of having three teams of four players facing each other.
Promising dialogues with several publishers are in progress, and it is my assessment that there is keen interest in the game. For Fall Damage, it is important to find the right partner who also understands the uniqueness of the game and has the ability to market it in the best way. I look forward to reporting back on the outcome of these dialogues.
Playdigious prepared for an intense year
Playdigious has started 2024 on a high note with the successful release of Potion Permit and the announcement of two new titles, following a strong finish to 2023 with the much-requested Little Nightmares, released in December. Thanks to the investments made in 2023 to increase Playdigious’ capacity, the subsidiary now plans to release 6-8 new mobile games in 2024, which is double the release rate of previous years. Playdigious has successfully built a strong brand in its niche, has and as a result, several of the releases we can look forward to in 2024 and 2025 are well-known game titles. This means a larger production, but even more so higher revenues over time than an average game released by Playdigious historically. This will have a ripple effect and my assessment is that Playdigious is now seriously a challenger for even bigger titles and significant collaborations.
In addition to an increased release rate for new games, we are continuing the work on expanding the distribution of Playdigious’ entire portfolio of games step by step. In the fourth quarter, success title Dead Cells was released on Netflix and Dungeon of the Endless was approved for distribution in China. The focus on more and bigger agreements that enable increased revenues from existing games continues in 2024.
Finally, the investments in Playdigious have also enabled the establishment of the publishing vertical Playdigious Originals, which was launched last summer. With two PC game titles planned for release in 2024, and more contracts in the pipeline, I am very pleased at how quickly and professionally the business is developing.
Lucky Kat enters new phase
The operations of our Dutch subsidiary have been undergoing change, with a shift in focus from hypercasual to web3. A high pace of development was maintained during the fourth quarter, resulting in, among other things, the recent successful soft launch of Cosmocadia on mobile.
2023 was a difficult year for the financial markets, which had a strong slowdown effect on web3. However, towards the end of the year, the market picked up again and in December we were able to carry out a private sale of tokens of EUR 800,000, at the same time bringing in new, well-qualified investors. This gives us a boost for what lies ahead.
After eight years, Herdjie Zhou recently decided to step down as Lucky Kat CEO to transition to the role of Senior Advisor. The fact that another of our founders is choosing to continue working within the group is a great testament to that we have succeeded in building the culture we have strived for within Fragbite Group. Herdjie will focus on the upcoming public launch and sale of our $KOBAN game token which is an important building block in the web3 portfolio. He is assisted by board member Zara Zamani, who has taken on the role of acting CEO. Zara is highly skilled and is well equipped to support Lucky Kat as it takes the next step forward.
MMA Manager 2 developing in the right direction
During the quarter, we increased marketing efforts for MMA Manager 2, which after the end of the period is showing good results so far. Among other metrics, the average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) has improved with 30% to date during 2024 compared with Q4 2023. February is looking especially promising at this time, which gives me cause for optimism. In 2024, the focus is on restructuring and improving the profitability of Funrock & Prey Studios to enable growth in this business vertical.
Fragbite AB achieves profitability
As previously announced, Fragbite AB returned to profitability in 2023 and I am extremely proud of what the team has achieved during the year. This is the result of hard, focused work and successfully adapting to new conditions. Keeping primary focus on the Swedish Cup together with the agency business under the Config brand has borne fruit and paved the way for growth. With a commercially successful 2023 Swedish Cup behind us, as well as expanded contracts for Config on a global level, we now enter 2024 well positioned to further increase profitability.
Overall, the Group’s net sales for the fourth quarter amounted to SEK 60.4 million, a decline compared with the same period last year, primarily attributable to lower revenues from the Group’s hypercasual games. This was entirely according to plan as we chose to divest a large part of the hypercasual portfolio earlier in the year in line with changing conditions in the F2P market. The decline is also attributable to MMA Manager 2 as the marketing of the game in the fourth quarter was scaled up later than in the previous year. EBITDA showed a slight decline compared with the same period the previous year, but profitability for the full year 2023 improved significantly, despite investments in 2023 that are expected to yield effects in 2024 and beyond.
In 2023, we made important investments and reprioritisations to support improved profitability going forward, which makes me optimistic about the future for a growing Fragbite Group.
2024 – a year to look forward to!
In 2023 we laid the groundwork for 2024 to be a year to remember. Few can doubt that Playdigious will continue to make major strides forward. Fall Damage is working with determination towards the release of ALARA Prime in the third quarter. The entire Fall Damage team is engaged in the release, which will be transformative and an instant game changer for the whole Group. I remain very positive about this investment. It is very positive to see our web3 business taking further steps in the right direction and that we are finally approaching the launch of $KOBAN, particularly as the public sale can result in a distinct financial contribution. Fragbite AB has found new revenue models for esports, thereby achieving profitability, which means we can aim for new heights in 2024. The prospects for a truly successful 2024 are excellent. Fragbite Group is a group at the beginning of its journey, and I would remind you that individual quarters may vary, but if we look at development over the full year, I can only see a bright future!
Stockholm 23 February 2024
Marcus Teilman
President and CEO
The report is attached to this press release and available for download from the Fragbite Group website: www.fragbitegroup.com/financial-reports
Fragbite Group President & CEO Marcus Teilman and CFO Anders Rössel will present the report via live webcast starting 10.00 am CET. The presentation will be held in English and is followed by a Q&A session. Link: https://ir.financialhearings.com/fragbite-group-q4-report-2023
