Shares in Devolver Digital Inc (AIM:DEVO) rose 9% to 19p after the indie video games publisher said first-half revenue would come in at least 60% higher than a year earlier.
The company, which publishes and develops independent games, said performance for the six months to 30 June had run ahead of expectations, with underlying adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation expected to reach mid single-digit millions of dollars.
The strong comparison partly reflected the timing of the Devolver Steam Publisher Sale, a promotional event on the Steam storefront, falling in the first half, alongside a strong start to the year that delivered three of the ten best-selling games globally on Steam in January.
The update was not uniformly positive.
The June launch of STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, developed by subsidiary System Era, has seen disappointing unit sales so far, though review scores are improving and regular content updates are planned through to the end of the year to revive interest.
Devolver pointed to a strong line-up for the second half to offset that slower start.
Firefly, another in-house studio, drew a positive response to its announcement of Stronghold 4, racking up 250,000 wishlists in two weeks.
The company also flagged interest in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, with around 260,000 wishlists, and Shroom and Gloom, with about 220,000.
Devolver said the strong first half and enthusiasm for its coming titles were expected to build a profitable cushion, partly offset by the weaker STARSEEKER launch.
Fuller details on first-half performance and full-year guidance will come with interim results in late September.
The publisher, which has released more than 150 titles and has over 30 in its pipeline, will hold its annual meeting this afternoon.
