The last year of studio closures, sell-offs and restructuring at Embracer has somehow left its mobile arm relatively unscathed, with its combined Deca and Easybrain groups posting steady performance for FY23/24.
In an annual report released this morning, Embracer noted “strong margin development” for its mobile wing. Combined, Deca and Easybrain saw a slight net sales rise of 2%, with Easybrain’s games the driver. The figure for FY23/24 cited was 5.9bn SEK, or around $566m, up on the 5.8bn SEK / ~$557m posted last year.
Deca’s games, which include casual and hypercasual outfit CrazyLabs, saw sales declines “primarily impacted by a business model shift”, said Embracer. Alien Invasion was noted as a bright spot, but overall the Deca Games part of the business pulled MAUs and DAUs down overall.
Looking at profitability, EBIT was 1.03bn SEK or ~$98.4m, a 17% EBIT margin. The previous year’s figure was -4%. Adjusted EBIT was 1.9bn SEK or ~$183m, a 32% margin, up from last year’s 24%.
Embracer said the improvements in profitability were due to “lower user acquisition costs and a product mix shift within DECA Games”, driven by CrazyLabs. It also listed its top five back catalogue titles as Sudoku.com, BlockuDoku, Art Puzzle, Jigsaw Puzzles and Alien Invasion.
Elsewhere in the report, Embracer said mobile accounts for 14% of group sales and 28% of its adjusted EBIT. Mobile accounts for a headcount of 1,081 across its 11 mobile studios, and it owns 49 mobile game IPs.
Embracer as a whole delivered record high net sales of 42.2bn SEK, or ~$4bn, an increase of 12%. Adjusted EBIT grew 11% to 7.1bn SEK (~$679m).
“Embracer Group has taken important steps in its transformation towards a leaner and more focused company,” it said. “The year was the most challenging period in the company’s history, resulting in a restructuring program that laid the foundation for the future.”
