Rovio saw a decline in overall revenue by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2020 as it generated €69.2 million ($81.7 million) for the period ending June 30th.
The decrease in earnings can be attributed to lower movie revenues. However, the Finnish firm’s adjusted operating profit grew to €13.8 million ($16.3 million), an increase of 160.1 per cent. Rovio has cited stable revenues from key titles, and an increased level of player engagement, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lower UA spending as the reasons for its impressive rise.
Meanwhile, games’ revenue increased by 2.2 per cent to €66.9 million ($79 million). Looking at specific games, Angry Birds 2 gross bookings hit €28.8 million ($34 million), representing a growth of 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
An eventful quarter
“We had an eventful Q2 and continued delivering on our strategy on multiple fronts. We reached record high Games revenue driven by the strong performance of our key games. Our profitability improved significantly year-on-year due to lower user acquisition investments and higher games gross bookings. The strong profitability led to the highest operating cash flow since Q418,” said Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta.
“In June, we launched a new narrative puzzle game called Small Town Murders. Our aim is to scale up the user acquisition of the game gradually. Rovio’s largest game, Angry Birds 2, grew quarter-on-quarter thanks to game updates, seasonal events and increased player engagement that can be attributed to Covid-19, especially in April.
“The overall impact of Covid-19, which was visible in a higher level of downloads, daily active users and player engagement, peaked late April. From May onwards, these KPIs started to normalise. At the same time, successful game improvements have led to somewhat higher monetisation compared to the beginning of the year and stable revenues in our key games.”
Rovio had a busy quarter, especially in June as it not only acquired Darkfire Games but also launched a new title, Small Town Murders.
