Gfinity Annual Loss Widens On Staff And Acquisition Costs; Revenue Up

LONDON (Alliance News) - Gfinity PLC on Tuesday said its loss more than doubled in its most recently ended financial year due to higher costs, in spite of higher revenue due to a strong performance from its managed services business.

Gfinity provides managed services for e-sports, which are video game competitions.

For the year to the end of June, Gfinity reported a pretax loss of GBP13.8 million, widened from GBP5.3 million the year before, as administrative expenses rose to GBP10.0 million from GBP4.9 million, due to higher staff costs driven by recruitment.

This followed the acquisitions of e-sports technology services provider CEVO in July 2017 and media platform Real Sport in March 2018.

However, revenue grow significantly, by 82%, to GBP4.3 million from GBP2.4 million the prior year, mainly through growth in the managed services business.

There also were contributions from Gfinity's owned and operated franchises, including the Gfinity Elite Series and other tournaments.

During the period, Gfinity added Formula One and Codemasters Group Holdings PLC as new clients in order to launch a Formula One Esports Series.

Post-period, Gfinity signed a deal with Domino's Pizza Group PLC to be a presenting partner for the Gfinity Elite Series tournament, launched in July last year.

"We have further strengthened the foundations of our business by continuing to invest in our strategic priorities to generate future revenue growth. Over the past 12 months we have connected publishers such as EA and Microsoft, rights holders such as Formula One and global brands and media partners with the young, engaged and fast growing esports community," said Executive Chairman Garry Cook.

"In 2018 we will continue to focus on delivering an innovative tournament series, creating and hosting partner events, building our digital "Tribe" community, and helping to show the societal benefits of gaming through our corporate responsibility initiatives," Cook added.

Shares in Gfinity were down 1.8% at 8.10 pence on Tuesday.