We deliver great results by capitalizing on our portfolio of acquired franchises according to our business model. There is a great momentum delivering new releases under our asset care program and we had five releases in the first quarter. We are still building up the portfolio of development and in total we had 32 projects ongoing by the end of the quarter. Our first sequels will be finalised and released during the second half of 2017.
Our growing publishing team in Vienna is leading the organisation to deliver on our full release schedule for the third and fourth quarter. It will be an intense period of sales, PR, marketing and distribution.
After the quarter we announced Darksiders III, a sequel of one of our largest franchises. The feedback from the fans and gaming press have in general been positive. It is developed by parts of the original team of creators at Gunfire Games in Austin. The game is planned to be released during 2018.
Financially, we continued to deliver growth and profitability during the first quarter. Net sales increased by 90% to SEK 81.9 m and EBIT increased by 125% to SEK 31.9 m resulting in an EBIT margin of 39%. This is a great achievement, however, I would like to state that we are still a small player in a large industry.
– LARS WINGEFORS, FOUNDER & CEO
First quarter 2017
All comparatives within parentheses refer to the corresponding period of the previous year, unless otherwise stated.
For additional information, please contact:
Lars Wingefors, Group CEO
Tel: +46 708 471 978
E-post: lwingefors@thqnordic.com
About THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic acquires, develops and publishes PC and console games. The company has wide catalogue of 260 games including 80 owned franchises such as Darksiders, Titan Quest, MX vs ATV, Red Faction, Destroy All Humans, Aquanox, ELEX, Jagged Alliance, SpellForce and The Guild. THQ Nordic has a global publishing reach within marketing, sales and distribution, both online, and offline. The Groups headoffice is based in Karlstad, Sweden and its operational office in Vienna, Austria. THQ Nordic employs and contractually collaborates with more than 400 people and has 4 in-house development studios based in Germany, USA and Sweden. THQ Nordic shares is public listed on Nasdaq First North Stockholm under the ticker THQNB:SS with FNCA Sweden AB as its Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit: http://www.thqnordic-investors.com or http://www.thqnordic.com.
This information is information that THQ Nordic is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 07.00 CET on May 16, 2017.
Embracer Group is a global group of creative and entrepreneurial businesses in PC/console, mobile and tabletop games and other related media. The Group has an extensive catalog of over 900 owned or controlled franchises.
With its head office based in Karlstad, Sweden, Embracer Group has a global presence through its ten operative groups: THQ Nordic, PLAION, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, DECA Games, Easybrain, Asmodee Group, Dark Horse Media, Freemode and Crystal Dynamics – Eidos. The Group has 103 internal game development studios and is engaging more than 10,000 employees in more than 40 countries.