Figures Show: Cherry Growth for 2015 Driven by iGaming

Lee R. - February 25, 2016

Industry

Cherry further rebounded to show gains in areas that were losing ground in previous years.

Cherry is yet another iGaming operator reporting robust growth for 2015.

Increases Overall

The Cherry Group's full turnover of SEK528.7 million (€55.9 million/$62.2 million) represents an increase of 56% on the SEK340 million achieved in the previous year.

The figures cite iGaming business as the driver of Cherry's year-on-year increases in all key financial areas for 2015.

Powerhouse brands such as Cherry Casino, EuroLotto casino, and Suomi Automatti in its stable, Cherry showed important gains. Earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation (EBITDA) recovered from last year's loss of SEK17.9 million to the positive gain this year of SEK35.9 million. Earnings before interest also rebounded from a loss of SEK32.9 million to post a respectable positive gain of SEK13.3 million.

Online Growth Drivers

Online operations drove the growth, providing 69% of total revenue, jumping 14% year-on-year. Online gaming business recorded growth of 91% year-on-year, with EBITDA rebounding from a loss (SEK18.8 million) to a positive gain (SEK21.8 million).

Cherry's Yggdrasil online games division posted tremendous growth for 2015, with EBITDA jumping a whopping 357% to SEK5.2 million.

Cherry’s full-year performance was boosted by a positive set of results for the fourth quarter, during which revenue was up 72% year-on-year to SEK172.5 million and EBITDA jumped from a loss of SEK6.5 million to a positive showing of SEK23.4 million.

CEO Optimism

Cherry CEO Fredrik Burvall couldn't have been happier about the exclamation point for 2015 provided by Q4 performance figures, citing a trend of “strong growth and a substantial increase in profits” punctuated by group revenue vaulting 72% for the period.

The future looks incredibly bright for Cherry's online business, projected to continue grow faster than the market. Burvall attributed the resilience to his company's diversified platform, which has been optimized to rapidly integrate new features.

As for expansion, Cherry is targeting markets where management can expect strong growth, starting with submission of a license application to the UK.