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(Alliance News) - Keywords Studios PLC on Thursday said it had weathered a number of headwinds in 2023, but expects to emerge with strong revenue growth for the full year.
Despite a "mixed industry backdrop" of foreign exchange rates and US entertainment strikes in 2023, "resilient growth" was reported by the Dublin-based provider of video game technical and creative services.
The company expects around EUR780 million in revenue for the full year, up 13% from EUR690.7m in 2022.
Adjusted operating profit is expected at around EUR122 million, up from EUR114.6 million a year prior, representing an unchanged 16% margin.
The hit of US strikes on organic revenue was around 2.6%, or EUR20 million, Keywords said, with foreign exchange also contributing a "small headwind". Organic revenue growth, excluding these factors, was roughly 9%.
However, the company ended the year with around EUR68 million in net debt, compared to EUR81.8 million of net cash at the end of 2022.
Keywords said that the five acquisitions it completed in 2023, for a total consideration of EUR225 million, will help deliver strong revenue and profit growth in 2024. The company will also focus on increasing organic growth and maintaining profit margins above 15% through effective cost management and improved efficiency.
In December, Keywords acquired Multiplayer Group Ltd, a Nottingham-based game development studio, from Improbable Worlds Ltd for GBP76.5 million. On Thursday, Keywords said that the purchase "significantly scales" its Create division, and increases its exposure to "high-end creative services".
Chief Executive Officer Bertrand Bodson said: "In what was a difficult year for the industry, we delivered resilient performance in 2023 and we continued to grow our market share and industry leadership position. We made considerable progress against our strategic objectives and scaled our platform through the acquisition of five studios, broadening our high-quality offering for clients.
"We will continue to successfully navigate the market conditions in 2024 and are excited by the opportunity ahead to build the leading technology-enabled platform, solving complexity for clients across the content creation process in the largest entertainment industries in the world."
Shares in Keywords were down 2.2% at 1,540.00 pence in London on Thursday morning.
By Hugh Cameron, Alliance News reporter
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