tinyBuild Inc, a premium video games publisher and developer with global operations, said a strong performance in the last part of the year from new titles, including Potion Craft, and back catalogue sales pushed profits ahead of market expectations in 2021.
Revenue rose 39% to US$52.2mln from 2020, while operating profit increased by 64% to US$12.5mln as a result of lower share-based payment expenses.
Net cash stood at US$48.8mln at the end of December compared to US$26.3mln a year earlier, after accounting for gross proceeds of US$50mln from its IPO, acquisitions, and a significant increase in development costs.
tinyBuild listed its shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange at a market capitalisation of £340.6mln in March last year.
“Last year has been an incredible ride, from the IPO to our largest deal ever with Versus Evil and Red Cerberus opening up new avenues of growth. Our back catalogue has performed strongly, and we have an even more diverse revenue mix in terms of titles, genres, geography and audience. Our strategy to accumulate owned-IP has resulted in a strong financial performance and has translated into an improved profitability,” said chief executive officer Alex Nichiporchik.
tinyBuild’s portfolio increased to over 70 titles - 30 at the time of the IPO - thanks to its acquisition of US-based publisher Versus Evil and nine new titles launched in 2021.
Robust back catalogue sales represented 83% of total revenue, which the company said demonstrated its ability to extend the life cycle of games, while adding new titles.
Commenting on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the company's operations, tinyBuild said it has been “working hard” to support employees and independent contractors and their families in areas affected by the conflict.
“At the time of print, all employees and independent contractors have moved out of the riskiest areas and plans are in place to welcome anybody fleeing the conflict in our studios across Europe. We continue to monitor the situation carefully and have further contingency plans in place,” it added.
Moving forward, tinyBuild is confident the company is on track to deliver results “at least in line with expectations, plus accretive acquisitions”.
"A growing pipeline of high-quality titles set for release in the next two years, the majority of which are first and second-party, means we can build more multi-game franchises and emulate the success of Hello Neighbor. It is great to see an enlarged fanbase engaging with Hello Neighbor 2, and we look forward with confidence to the closed Beta pre-orders,” said Nichiporchik.