NetEnt Rolls Ahead with Strong Q1
Published April 28, 2016 by Lee R
Q1 results indicate NetEnt momentum is building on the spurs of a successful 2015. Expansion is the word, and NetEnt is embracing it most effectively.
NetEnt is rolling right now, with a wealth of year-on-year Q1 increases to prove it.
Major Categorical Jumps
For Q1 NetEnt reported a 57% jump in operating profit to SEK 128.1m (£11.01m), and a 33% jump in revenues to SEK 345.4m.
Profit after tax was SEK 121.7m, for a smashing jump of 64%, while operating margin jumped from 31.7% to 37.1%. Earnings per share after dilution also jumped handsomely from 1.86 to SEK 3.04.
Expansion Arc
These positive figures are in keeping with the recent expansion of the company, which boasts 777 casino, EUCasino, and Playamo casino as some of the iGaming thoroughbreds within its vast and ever-increasing stables.
Much of the company's expansion has come in the form of new entry into New Jersey with last March's launch of NetEnt’s online casino content by PokerStars in the Garden State.
Licensing
This paved the way for subsequent partnerships with all iGaming licensees sealed after the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement granted a transactional waiver to NetEnt which resulted in generated online casino win of $38.2m for Q1 2016 for the state itself.
As for Q1, nine new licence agreements were signed and eight new customer casinos were launched.
Per Strategy
NetEnt CEO and President Per Eriksson praised the company’s ongoing growth and expansion strategy as one of the main drivers behind the key jumps for Q1 2016.
“We have had a strong start to the year with high growth in revenues, profits and cash flow,” Eriksson said, adding that this was consistent with “our growth strategy and the expansion in Europe and North America continues.”
New Segment
Interesting new marketing twists for NetEnt include the new NetEnt Rocks slate, launched in January with the release of Guns N Roses slot, NetEnt's most successful game release so far. The next NetEnt Rocks releases will be based on the music and graphics of Jimi Hendrix and Motörhead.
Outlook
The fact that NetEnt is expanding its target demographic as well as its physical presence shows that NetEnt is firing on all cylinders, and more strong growth looks likely, as well as another surprising marketing twist or two. This will be fun to watch.
