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16 Jan 2017 07:00
16 January 2017
Frontier Developments plc
Trading Update
Transition complete; well positioned for next phase of growth
Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV, "Frontier", the "Group"), a leading developer of video games, announces the following trading update.
Frontier's strategic objective has been to self-publish multiple video game franchises. We achieved this objective in November 2016 with the successful launch of our second franchise, Planet Coaster. The launch received a positive reception from gamers and reviewers and by the end of December over 0.5 million paid units had been sold. We have a strong programme of updates in place for Planet Coaster which will be released through 2017 and beyond.
The Group's Elite Dangerous franchise continues to perform well. By the end of December 2016 a total of over 2.1 million paid franchise units had been sold. Elite Dangerous: Horizons, the season of expansions for this successful franchise, was released on Xbox One in June. The Group also continued to deliver Horizons for PC and Xbox One by launching 'The Guardians 'in October.
Revenue for the six months ended 30 November 2016 was approximately £18.1m, an increase of 66% when compared to the first half of last year. We expect to report EBITDA for the period of approximately £5.7m. Whilst the US dollar has strengthened against Sterling over the period any benefit has been offset by realised and fair value losses from historical currency hedges.
Sales in December were in line with the Board's expectations. Although the state of the market after the festive season remains to be seen, the strong first-half revenues, which exceeded the Board's expectations, mean it is confident about meeting its expectations for the Financial Year.
Given the strong progress exhibited by these results and the Company's confidence in its future prospects, the Company has continued to increase its investment in development and other business activities.
The Group's balance sheet remains strong and at 30 November 2016 the Group had net cash of £6.7m. The Group is in a good financial position to support its continuing investment plans going forwards.
Frontier expects to report its unaudited interim results in early February 2017.
David Braben, Chief Executive of Frontier Developments, said:
"I am delighted that, as planned, Frontier is now self-publishing multiple franchises, marking the end of its business model transition and the beginning of a new phase of growth.
Both our released franchises are doing well, with cumulative Elite Dangerous franchise sales of over 2.1m units and over 0.5m units for Planet Coaster. We are now working to further the success of our existing franchises and create additional ones."
Certain information contained in this announcement would have constituted inside information (as defined by Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014) prior to its release as part of this announcement.
Enquiries:
Frontier Developments | +44 (0)1223 394 300 |
David Braben, CEO David Walsh, COO | |
Numis - Nomad and Joint Broker | +44 (0)20 7260 1000 |
Simon Willis / Jamie Lillywhite (Nomad) / Toby Adcock | |
Finncap | +44 (0) 207 220 0500 |
Matt Goode / Giles Rolls | |
Tulchan Communications | +44 (0) 207 353 4200 |
James Macey White / Matt Low |
About Frontier Developments plc
Frontier Developments plc, listed on the AIM stock market (AIM: FDEV), is a leading independent game developer founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the seminal 'Elite' game. Based in Cambridge, Frontier uses its proprietary 'COBRA' game development technology to create innovative games across videogame consoles, computers, smartphones and tablets.
www.frontier.co.uk
About Elite Dangerous
Elite Dangerous - available for Windows PC, Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Xbox One and coming to Sony Playstation 4 in 2Q 2017 - is the definitive massively multiplayer space epic, bringing gaming's original open world adventure to the modern generation with a connected galaxy, evolving narrative and the entirety of the Milky Way re-created at its full galactic proportions.
www.elitedangerous.com
About Planet Coaster
Planet Coaster - available for Windows PC - builds on Frontier's genre-defining expertise with coaster park games such as RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and Thrillville. It further raises the bar for this popular genre, allowing players to let their imaginations run wild as they surprise, delight and thrill incredible crowds, and share their success with the world via the Steam Workshop community.
www.planetcoaster.com
Important Note
The information contained in this announcement about the franchise sales of Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster relates solely to these games and does not constitute a profit estimate or profit forecast in respect of the Group or any guidance as to the likely profits of the Group.
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