- Playtika profits increased by 63.4% sequentially and 14.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024
- Revenue fell by 3.7% and 1.5% to $627 million
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Israeli games firm Playtika saw a profit surge in the second quarter of 2024, up by 63.4% sequentially and 14.4% year-on-year to $86.6 million.
This was achieved despite falls in revenue across its casual and social games including Bingo Blitz and Slotomania. In fact, Playtika’s overall revenue fell to $627 million, down 3.7% sequentially and 1.5% year-on-year.
Direct-to-consumer revenue did increase, however, representing $173.7 million of earnings at a 1.3% and 5.1% rise sequentially and year-on-year, respectively.
Time for something new
The latest figures come after the company had surprisingly shelved plans to launch new titles, choosing instead to focus on existing ones.
“Our focus on our direct-to-consumer business and our highly disciplined approach to managing operating expenses has led to a notable improvement in our margins on a sequential basis,” said Playtika president and CFO Craig Abrahams.
“We are taking steps to ensure sustained growth and profitability and we remain committed to delivering long-term value to our players and shareholders, our focus on execution remains unwavering.”
Playtika CEO Robert Antokol added: “We are focused on the resilience and potential of our leading games and our strategic initiatives aimed at revitalising our portfolio.
“We are actively pursuing opportunities to broaden our game offerings through M&A. Our focus is on identifying studios that complement our existing games and drive long-term value.”
However, during the earnings call to discuss the quarter’s results, he also revealed plans that the company would be reversing their ‘no launches’ strategy and would be launching a single new game in Q2 2025.
“I am excited to announce that we plan to launch our latest new game Claire’s Chronicles in Q2 of 2025, which is another story-driven title from our Wooga Studio,” Antokol said.
Moves across the board
Playtika’s average payer conversion reached 3.7% in Q2 2024, rising from 3.5% in Q1 and 3.6% in Q2 2023. Even so, its number of average daily paying users declined by 3.6% sequentially and 2.9% year-on-year, at 298,000 players.
Impacts of this falling figure can be seen in the company’s casual games, which declined in revenue by 4.3% sequentially and 1.7% year-on-year, as well as social casino revenue, down 2.9% and 3.4% over the same periods.
Casino board game Bingo Blitz specifically saw declines of 1.2% and 0.4% over those periods, having generated $155.7 million in revenue during the second quarter of the year.
Slotomania experienced declines too, down 1.2% sequentially and 7.5% year-on-year to $133.8 million.
On the other hand, June’s Journey revenue increased by 1.9% year-on-year to $74.6 million, though it too fell sequentially, down 2.6%.
Total costs were also down year-on-year, at $486.3 million in Q2 2024 compared to $503.6 million in Q2 2023; Playtika laid off 600 staff as a cost-cutting measure in December 2023, reducing its workforce by 15%.
The company’s rise in profits and return to developing new games follows the announcement that Playtika is no longer up for sale.
