Full year trading update & Frontier Foundry review

Frontier Developments PLC

14 June 2023

 

14 June 2023

Full year trading update and Frontier Foundry review

Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV, 'Frontier', the 'Company', or the 'Group'), a leading developer and publisher of video games based in Cambridge, UK, announces an update on trading for financial year FY23, the 12 months ended 31 May 2023, alongside the outcome of the review of Frontier Foundry, its games label for third party publishing.

Headlines

·     FY23 revenue (unaudited) of around £104 million, in-line with guidance provided in January 2023

·     Solid performance from existing portfolio of games, generating 72% of revenue

·     Jurassic World Evolution 2 was the strongest performer in the period

·     F1® Manager 2022 was the lead revenue generator from new releases, selling over 800k units

·     Modest accretive financial benefits from the acquisition of Complex Games Inc, as expected

·     FY24 releases to include F1® Manager 2023 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin

·     Completion of the strategic review of Frontier Foundry

FY23 provisional financial results - subject to final review and audit

Provisional, unaudited revenue, adjusted EBITDA and operating profit before one-off amortisation adjustments were all in-line with the guidance provided in January 2023.

Revenue of around £104 million was delivered through a solid performance from the existing portfolio of games (released prior to 1 June 2022) which accounted for 72% of revenue during the period. Jurassic World Evolution 2, created in collaboration with Universal Products & Experiences, was the strongest performer in the portfolio, with revenue in its first 18 months exceeding the performance of the first Jurassic World Evolution game during its first 18 months. F1® Manager 2022 was the leading revenue generator amongst new games, selling over 800,000 units in its first nine months.

Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of cash profitability, was in-line with expectations. Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation charges related to game developments and Frontier's game technology, less investments in game developments and Frontier's game technology, and excluding share-based payment charges and other non-cash items.  The provisional, unaudited figure for FY23 Adjusted EBITDA is a loss of around £5 million, which is consistent with expectations and reflects continued investment in future games as Frontier gears up to deliver two new game releases per financial year from FY24 onwards.

Operating profit before one-off amortisation adjustments was also in-line with expectations with a provisional profit figure of around £2 million. However, an incremental one-off amortisation charge relating to Foundry games, currently estimated to be around £13 million (subject to audit), is expected to result in a statutory operating loss being recorded in the FY23 accounts under IFRS.

In November 2022 Frontier added a new development team with the acquisition of experienced game development studio Complex Games Inc ('Complex'), following the successful collaboration between Complex and Frontier on the development and publication of turn-based strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters. Integration activities and growth plans for Complex are on-track, and the acquisition delivered modest accretive financial benefits in FY23, as expected.

Frontier remains well capitalised, with a cash balance at 31 May 2023 of £28 million. The net cash outflow of £11 million during the period was after outflows of £11 million for the acquisition of Complex and £3 million for the purchase of shares into the Employee Benefit Trust.

Frontier Foundry review

In January 2023 Frontier announced a review of its Foundry games label, due to disappointing financial performance and increased competition amongst third-party publishers. Today Frontier confirms the conclusion of its review, with the decision to cease all activity relating to acquiring new third-party titles and instead re-focus on internal titles.

Since its inception in summer 2019, Foundry has supported the launch of seven new and diverse titles. Financial performance across the Foundry portfolio has been disappointing, and overall, the business has not delivered Frontier's expectations of a positive return on investment within the first year of each title.

As such, the Board has decided to cease all activity relating to acquiring new third-party titles. This decision will enable an increased level of operational focus to be applied to Frontier's own internally developed portfolio of titles, which has delivered a strong return on investment. Foundry games which have already been released will continue to be supported, including those in active post-release development.

Following today's decision, the Company anticipates that Foundry resource adjustments during calendar year 2023 will focus on role redeployment and the management of fixed term employment contracts.

As part of the financial review process for Foundry, the Board has assessed the value of the intangible game assets for Foundry as at the financial year end date of 31 May 2023, against the future cash generation expected from each title. After taking an appropriately prudent approach to future cash flow forecasts, an incremental Foundry amortisation charge of around £13 million is expected to be taken in FY23, subject to audit.

FY24 releases and outlook

FY24, the financial year from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024, will benefit from two major new game releases: F1® Manager 2023 and Frontier's first real-time strategy game, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, with both games on-track for release as planned.

On 23 May 2023 Frontier unveiled F1® Manager 2023, the next instalment in the officially licensed Formula 1® management simulation series, with deeper management systems, more dramatic racing, and an even greater commitment to authenticity.

Releasing in summer 2023 on PC, PlayStation® 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One, F1® Manager 2023 comes even closer to the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship™ with the brand-new Race Replay mode, which will allow aspiring Team Principals to rewrite key moments from throughout the 23-race season. This new mode will help to strengthen the game's appeal to a broader audience. Additionally, in the returning Career mode, players will enjoy a suite of highly requested feature developments, adding new dimensions to the sporting drama at every turn.

On 25 May 2023, Frontier announced Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, a major real-time strategy game coming soon to PlayStation® 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, in partnership with Games Workshop®. Set in the expansive fantasy universe of Age of Sigmar, players will command four unique factions in dynamic real-time battles, experiencing a story-driven singleplayer campaign and competing against warlords afar in 1v1 and 2v2 cross-platform online multiplayer modes.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin is the definitive real-time strategy experience based on Games Workshop's ultimate fantasy miniatures game, and Frontier's first release in the real-time strategy genre.

Alongside these two new major game releases, Frontier's existing game portfolio is expected to continue to deliver substantial on-going revenue contributions in FY24, supported by new content.

The Board is therefore comfortable with current analyst forecasts for FY24, with consensus revenue at around £108 million and the majority of analysts projecting an Adjusted EBITDA loss in the range of £5-10 million.   

The Board is confident that the Company can return to attractive levels of financial performance over the medium term, based on the strength of its existing portfolio and planned new releases. An update on trading for FY24 will be provided alongside the final FY23 financial results announcement in September 2023.

Jonny Watts, Frontier's CEO, said:

"I am pleased to confirm trading for FY23 in-line with the guidance we provided in January 2023, with a solid contribution from the existing portfolio led by Jurassic World Evolution 2, and a good first year performance for our annual F1® Manager game series.

Our renewed focus is to select, develop, launch and nurture genre-leading games which delight our players and deliver strong financial performance for our investors. I am confident that we will return to growth and profitability through the achievements of our world class team, the performance of our existing game portfolio and the delivery of our exciting pipeline of future releases".

There will be a call for analysts and institutional investors at 9:30a.m. today. To register please contact [e-mail]

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended). This announcement is issued on behalf of the Company by Alex Bevis, CFO.

Enquiries:

Frontier Developments                                                                   [phone]

Jonny Watts, CEO

Alex Bevis, CFO 

Peel Hunt - Nomad and Joint Corporate Broker                    [phone]

Paul Gillam / Tom Ballard / James Smith

Liberum - Joint Corporate Broker                                               [phone]

Andrew Godber / Nikhil Varghese

Teneo                                                                                                    44 (0)20 7353 4200

Mark Burgess / Matt Low / Alex Dart

About Frontier Developments plc

Frontier is a leading independent developer and publisher of videogames founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the iconic Elite game. Frontier uses its proprietary COBRA game development technology to create innovative genre-leading games, primarily for personal computers and videogame consoles. As well as self-publishing internally developed games, Frontier also publishes games developed by carefully selected partner studios under its Frontier Foundry games label.

Frontier's LEI number: 213800B9LGPWUAZ9GX18.

www.frontier.co.uk

 

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