Angrybirdstop of the pecking order for profits
THE Finnish producer of the hugely successful ‘ Angry Birds’ game for mobile devices generated a € 48m pre- tax profit last year as the number of downloads soared.
The ‘ Angry Birds’ series – where gamers use birds fired from a slingshot to attack their pig arch enemies – has become one of the most successful products on devices such as Apple’s iphone and Android- powered phones.
The total number of downloads reached 648 million by the end of 2011 and the total number of active monthly users, across all platforms, reached 200 million.
A new version of its game – ‘ Angry Birds Space’ – became the fastest- selling game download ever when it launched in March. There were 50 million downloads recorded within the first 35 days of it being on sale.
Revenue at Rovio hit € 75m last year, with the pre- tax profit representing a massive 64pc gain.
“The strong growth in revenue clearly demonstrates the popularity of the ‘ Angry Birds’ brand,” said Rovio chief executive Mikael Hed, pictured right.
Merchandising and licensing generated about 30pc of Rovio’s revenue last year. The company, which employs over 220 people, said it’s currently working with more than 200 licensing partners on developing new products linked to the franchise.
“The heavy investments made in 2011 to all business areas will be seen in future products. To ensure continuous success we need to be creative and stay focused on entertaining our millions of fans by continuously developing new and innovative products and services.”
He added that he remains “very optimistic” about 2012.
Last year, Rovio said it was planning a stock market listing in either New York or Hong Kong, but it’s off the agenda for now. It’s been speculated that the company – despite its relatively low revenue and profits – could be valued at as much as € 7bn.
Mr Hed’s father Kaj, who’s a founder of investment firm Global Inter Partners, owns 75pc of Rovio.