Frontier Developments PLC (LON:FDEV) said it has started its new financial year “confidently” as it laid out its plans for new game releases over the coming years.
In a trading update, the AIM-listed firm said for the year ended 31 May it expects to report revenues of around £76mln, while operating profit is expected to be at least £16mln.
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Looking ahead, Frontier said Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, the latest major paid-for update for its Elite Dangerous space simulation game, is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2021, adding that the year will also see the release of Planet Coaster of the PlayStation and Xbox consoles as well as the first two games released as part of its third party publishing initiative.
The company said a further three third party games have already been signed for its 2022 financial year and that there was “scope for more”. Frontier also expects to release five or six third party games from the 2023 financial year onwards.
"I'd like to thank our fantastic team for their achievements during the last financial year, particularly through the ongoing challenges of the [coronavirus] situation. We are well positioned going forward with great visibility of a fantastic range of projects over the next few years, both internal and external. We've started FY21 strongly with our current portfolio of games continuing to do very well”, said Frontier chief executive David Braben.
“Our future is more exciting than ever and we look forward to working with all our great partners over the coming years", he added.
In a note on Monday, analysts at Shore Capital upgraded their target price to 1,940p, saying the visibility on new game launches was “strong” and the third party publishing schedule will “smooth earnings and create less dependency on big game launches, underpinning future revenues”.
The broker also said there was an “opportunity” for the company to retain some new video game players who picked up its titles during lockdown.
The company’s shares rose 1.4% to 1,967p in late-morning deals on Monday.
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