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(Alliance News) - Keywords Studios PLC said on Wednesday it recorded notable rises in revenue and profit in 2021 and looked to the future with confidence on a "buoyant" market and high demand.
The technical and creative services provider to the video game industry posted a 48% increase in pretax profit in 2021. The figure rose to EUR48.0 million from EUR32.5 million.
The Dublin-based company reported revenue of EUR512.2 million, up 37% from EUR373.5 million the previous year. Keywords said this was driven by high levels of demand and a "buoyant" video game market.
The company recommended a final dividend of 1.45 pence, which would bring the total dividend for 2021 to 2.15p. In 2020, Keywords did not declare any dividends.
Trading in the first quarter has seen "strong" demand across all of its service lines, Keywords said. It is "confident" of delivering a full-year performance at the top end of current expectations.
Chief Executive Bertrand Bodson said: "We expect the group's trading momentum to continue through 2022, with the increased flow of content to our later stage service lines seen in the second half of 2021 continuing into this year, alongside further strong demand for our earlier stage services such as Game Development, Art Creation and Marketing."
Shares in Keywords were up 6.1% at 2,480.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London.
By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com
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