Angry Birds fly high during the pandemic's peak
It's hard to believe, but the Angry Birds series is now 10-years old. One of the first breakout mobile games, the franchise spawned full-length films, a theme park, and a successful licensing business that brought in tons of cash for the game's developer Rovio. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a second wave of demand for the games that is reflected in Rovio's second quarter earnings results.
With more people playing Angry Birds from April through June, Rovio reported a 160% gain in adjusted operating profits year-over-year. Last year, the company reported adjusted operating profits of 5.3 million Euros ($6.3 million USD) during the second quarter compared to the 13.8 million Euros ($16.4 million USD) that it generated last quarter. Revenue, though, declined 3.6% to 69.2 million Euros ($82 million USD) due to lower movie gross. The company earned .15 Euros per share during the quarter up from .04 Euros per share during the same quarter last year.
Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta said, "We reached record high games revenue driven by the strong performance of our key games. The overall impact of COVID-19, which was visible in a higher level of downloads, daily active users and player engagement, peaked in late April." Possibly related to the stay-at-home orders that were prevalent during the quarter, The "Angry Birds Movie 2" was among the films most viewed on Netflix during the spring.
In a statement, the company said, "During the first half of this year we have seen heightened viewership and engagement for Angry Birds content across all major digital platforms. As an example, The Angry Birds Movie 2 was amongst the most watched movies on Netflix during the spring. In June, we signed a contract with IMG Licensing Worldwide for exclusive global representation of Angry Birds consumer products and location-based entertainment licensing. With their extensive global operations, supported by front and back office resources across geographies and product categories, we believe IMG can help us build an exciting offering over the coming years to reach our fans with high quality consumer products across the globe." On the Helsinki Stock Exchange, Rovio shares rose .095 Euros or 1.6% to 6.18 Euros.
Have you played Angry Birds recently?
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