27 Jun 2018 07:00
Strictly embargoed until 07.00, 27 June 2018
Sumo Group plc
("Sumo Group" or the "Group")
AGM STATEMENT, UPDATE ON TRADING AND NOTICE OF RESULTS
FY2018 trading in line with market expectations
At the first Annual General Meeting of Sumo Group to be held at 11.00 today at the Mercure Sheffield Parkway, Sheffield the Chairman, Ken Beaty, will make the following statement:
"We are now nearly half way through our first year as a public company and earlier this month passed the 15th anniversary of the founding of Sumo Digital. We continue to see strong demand for the Group's services and are well placed to take advantage of the considerable opportunities in our fast-growing global market. The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) reports that the global software market is expected to grow from $137.9 billion in 2018 to an estimated $180.1 billion by the end of 2021. This leaves us full of optimism for the future of our business. The Group's business development pipeline is very strong and I am pleased to report that the Company is trading in line with current market expectations and is well positioned to take advantage of growth in the global software market.
"There is global confidence in the gaming sector, as was evidenced at the recent E3 Conference in Los Angeles. A particular announcement to note was Microsoft's acquisition of four studios, and their plan to open a new additional studio in Santa Monica. This highlights the need to secure valuable development talent and experience, a challenge faced by all in the industry, and one that Sumo is particularly focused on with great success to date.
"At E3, Sony demonstrated a small number of focussed high quality first party exclusive games. Microsoft showed the trailer for one of our games, Crackdown 3, during their popular E3 press briefing and this was well received with the launch date now confirmed for February 2019. The launch of Team Sonic Racing for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC had been announced in May and the demonstration was also well received on the show floor at E3 with this title securing several "Best of Show" nominations and being awarded the Best Racing Title by Curse (www.curse.com). Finally, of those additional titles Sumo are working on, IO Interactive announced their partnership with Warner Brothers to publish Hitman 2.
"Elsewhere in the Group, Atomhawk, our complementary visual design company which services the games, film and visual effects industries, was double shortlisted at this year's North East Business Awards, in the "Let's Grow" and "Export" Categories. Atomhawk continues to export its services to an enviable list of clients across the globe. In May 2018, Atomhawk announced that it was approached by Unity, a leading global gaming industry software company, to help refresh and reboot their 3D Game Kit with a re-imagined style.
"Overall, the Group continues to operate with positive cash balances which are in line with management expectations. We continue to execute on our stated organic growth strategy and given the fragmented nature of our market we will also look to accelerate growth by exploring suitable acquisition opportunities. The Board is confident about the outlook for the Group in the year ahead and we expect to deliver full year results in line with market expectations."
The Group will be hosting an analyst and institutional investor Studio Site Visit in Sheffield on Monday 9 July 2018 and expects to announce the unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 June 2018 on 25 September 2018.
-ends-
Enquiries: | |
Sumo Group plc | Tel: +44 (0) 114 242 6766 |
Carl Cavers, Chief Executive Officer | |
David Wilton, Chief Financial Officer | |
Zeus Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker) | |
Nick Cowles / Andrew Jones | Tel: +44 (0) 161 831 1512 |
Ben Robertson / John Goold | Tel: +44 (0) 203 829 5000 |
Belvedere Communications Limited | |
Cat Valentine (cvalentine@belvederepr.com) | Tel: +44 (0) 7715 769 078 |
Llew Angus (langus@belvederepr.com) | Tel: +44 (0) 7407 023 147 |
About Sumo Group - www.sumogroupplc.com
Sumo Group's award-winning businesses provide creative and development services to the video games and entertainment industries, from studios in Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham, Pune (India) and Vancouver (Canada).
The Group's operating businesses include Sumo Digital and Atomhawk. Sumo Digital, its primary business, is one of the UK's largest independent developers of AAA-rated video games, providing both turnkey and co-development solutions to an international blue-chip client base. Atomhawk, a complementary business acquired in June 2017, is a multi-award winning visual design company, servicing the games, film and visual effects industries. Together, the Group delivers full-service visual and development solutions, which include initial concepts and pre-production, production and development, and post-release support.