Rovio posts Q4 profit drop, says mobile game market shrank last year

Playtika Holding

09/02/2023 08:20

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Finnish game maker Rovio  ROVIO.HE ,
best known for its Angry Birds franchise, posted a fall in
fourth-quarter profit on Thursday and said  the global mobile
game market in 2022 declined for the first time ever.
    "The market normalised after supercharged growth during the
onset of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, when the global market grew
annually by 30.1% and 12.5%, respectively," the company said in
its financial statement.
    Rovio, which is currently the target of a takeover offer
from larger U.S.-listed rival Playtika  PLTK.O , said game
developers' revenue was also dented by privacy changes on
Apple's iPhone.
    "Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework has
heavily impacted game publishers' ability to target high-value
players," the gamemaker said.
    Rovio reported a 55% decline to 5.9 million euros ($6.3
million) in its fourth-quarter adjusted operating profit, while
its revenue declined 2.5%.
    Rovio said its games outperformed the market but that its
low profit in 2022 was due to a writedown of its subsidiary that
tried to develop Hatch, a 5G gaming platform that never resulted
in commercial success.
    The mobile gaming market showed signs of stabilising towards
the end of the year, it said, adding it expects flat revenue and
profit development this year.
    "After five consecutive quarters of decline, it was
encouraging to see the U.S. market turn to slight growth," CEO
Alex Pelletier-Normand said in a statement.
    On Monday, Rovio said it had initiated a strategic review
and entered "preliminary nonbinding discussions" to consider
Playtika's offer for its shares. 
    ($1 = 0.9319 euros)
 (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; editing by Jason Neely)
 ((anne.kauranen@thomsonreuters.com; +358401895560;))