24th Apr 2018 12:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Video game developer Sumo Group PLC said on Tuesday its loss widened significantly in 2017 due to exceptional costs despite revenue growth.
Sumo reported a pretax loss of GBP28.0 million, widened from GBP2.1 million, due to an amortisation cost of GBP27.6 million on investing in people and systems ahead of its initial public offering to AIM in December, the inclusion of visual design company Atomhawk Design Ltd, and raised costs on its leasehold units in Sheffield.
Revenue for the period grew by 27% to GBP30.6 million from GBP24.1 million, with continued organic growth at Sumo Digital, the release of its first own intellectual property title Snake Pass, and its Atomhawk acquisition.
Sumo Group was admitted to trading in December after raising GBP78.2 million in its initial public offering, including GBP38.5 million for the company and GBP39.7 million for selling shareholders, at 100.00 pence per share. The company had a market capitalisation of GBP145 million at the IPO price.
Sumo's titles, released or set to be released, include Dead Island 2, Little Big Planet 3, and Crackdown 3.
Sumo's plan for the future is to deliver and expand through the development of franchise titles, and win new clients through the expansion of its publisher portfolio, however no releases are currently planned for 2018.
"Whilst it is still early in the year, the board already expects to deliver full year results slightly ahead of market expectations. We are continuing to see strong demand for the group's services and are well placed to take advantage of the considerable opportunities," said Chief Executive Carl Cavers.
"We expect to continue our organic growth and are also keen to accelerate this by acquiring suitable, complementary businesses. My board colleagues and I are confident about the outlook for the group in the year ahead," Cavers added.
Shares in Sumo Group remained flat at 110.00p on Tuesday.
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