Gameberry, a leading mobile gaming company known for its popular titles such as Ludo Star and Parchisi Star, has reported impressive financial results for the fiscal year 2024 (FY24). The company’s operating revenue surged by 47% year-on-year, reaching ₹461.7 crore, up from ₹314.3 crore in FY23. This growth has been coupled with a huge increase in profit, as the company achieved a profit after tax of ₹92.8 crore, 2.5 times that of the previous fiscal year, which was ₹37.1 crore.
PC: Facebook
In-app purchases constituted a major chunk of Gameberry’s revenue, at ₹365.4 crore, or 79.1% of its total operating revenue. This segment grew by 49.4% year-on-year. The company also earned ₹96.3 crore in advertising revenue, up 38.2% from the previous year. Interest income also contributed ₹23 crore to the company’s total income in FY24, which was ₹485 crore.
Despite the revenue growth, total cost for Gameberry went up by 29.6% to ₹360.5 crore from ₹278.1 crore in FY23. The highest cost head was employee benefits, which rose by 9.6% at ₹112.6 crore. Advertising was up by 51% ₹67.8 crore while settlement expenses related to legal agreement with Moonfrog Labs Private Limited stood at ₹50.8 crore. Other operation costs, which include IT, went up by 37.1% to ₹129.3 crore.
The settlement with Moonfrog, which was part of a legal case previously pending in the City Civil Court of Bengaluru, involved a one-time payment of ₹32.8 crore and a commitment to share 10% of Gameberry’s monthly net revenues until 2030. This has raised questions about the long-term financial implications for Gameberry, especially with its ongoing dispute with Moonfrog.
The cost optimization, coupled with improvement in the high-margin earnings streams, has helped Gameberry improve its margins. This has helped the company deliver a margin of 26.05% EBITDA and a return on capital employed, or ROCE, at 30.54% for FY24. The company managed to increase its return by spending merely ₹0.78 towards every rupee earned during FY24.
As of March 2024, Gameberry’s cash and bank balances stood at ₹325.7 crore, and its current assets were valued at ₹411 crore, which puts the company in a good position for future investments and growth initiatives.
In the larger real-money gaming sector, MPL has also put up impressive performances in its financials. The company posted a 22.2% growth in revenue from operations at ₹1,068 crore in FY24. Other major players like Dream11, Gameskraft, and A23 are yet to come out with their financial performances for the fiscal year. Therefore, this is one more indicator of the competitive nature of the gaming industry.
Conclusion
Gameberry’s strong financial performance during FY24, marked by significant revenue growth and improved profitability, speaks to the firm’s market strength in the mobile gaming industry. However, a revenue-sharing agreement with Moonfrog, while continuing legal disputes, may pose challenges to the company going forward. As it continues to work through the intricacies of these disputes, Gameberry will need to maintain growth and optimize operations in order to continue to outpace the dynamic gaming landscape.
