Starbreeze AB (publ) Year-End Report 2021

16 February 2022 08:00

Fourth quarter 2021

• Net sales amounted to SEK 31.1 million (32.6). PAYDAY accounted for SEK 30.2 million (30.7).
• EBITDA* amounted to SEK 15.6 million (5.3).
• Amortization, depreciation and impairments amounted to SEK 15.0 million (9.7).
• Profit before tax was SEK -13.0 million (-16.4).
• Basic and diluted earnings per share were SEK -0.02 (-0.02).

Full year 2021

• Net sales amounted to SEK 125.7 million (118.0). PAYDAY accounted for SEK 119.8 million (111.5).
• EBITDA* amounted to SEK 6.3 million (49.3).
• EBITDA**, adjusted for one-off effects related to PAYDAY Crime War license agreement, EBITDA amounted to SEK 74.9 million (49.3).
• Amortization, depreciation and impairments amounted to SEK 60.0 million (38.4).
• Profit before tax was SEK -105.2 million (-130.5).
• Basic and diluted earnings per share were SEK -0.14 (-0.28).
• Cash and cash equivalents amounted to SEK 128.6 million (157.4).

CEO Tobias Sjögren remarks on the report: PAYDAY – 10 years

PAYDAY – 10 years of dedicated players and continued strong growth.

In the last quarter of the year, we had reason to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our most valued brand as a gaming franchise. PAYDAY: The Heist was launched in October 2011 and the PAYDAY franchise has since then generated net revenue to Starbreeze approximately SEK 1.0 billion. It is with both admiration and a certain degree of humility that I can report that, a decade later, our average MAU was no less than 788,000 players. This clearly shows how popular the game is.

During the year, we generated PAYDAY-related revenue of approximately SEK 120 million, a 15.8% rise in net sales compared to 2020 on PC. Growth in sales of base games and DLC on Steam was 13% and 17% respectively. However, our console revenue is on a downward trend as we are not releasing new content on these platforms linked to PAYDAY 2. For PAYDAY 3, we have an updated development plan which means that PC and console will be updated continuously with the same content. The profits for the year were strong and we increased EBITDA, adjusted for one-off effects, with over 50% to SEK 74.9 million.

I am very confident that the PAYDAY success story will continue for at least as many more years to come. With products such as PAYDAY 3, PAYDAY Crime War and other future games, the development of both the gaming experience and the universe created by the PAYDAY brand is continuing.

In October, we successfully released Black Cat Heist, the third chapter of four in the City of Gold series. This, together with our 10th anniversary celebrations, helped make October the second best month for sales in 2021.

The development of PAYDAY 3 is proceeding according to plan and it's wonderful to see the game, now in full production, developing week by week. We are continuing to strengthen our game development team with the addition of new employees, and in 2021 we welcomed 60 new employees. Our team currently consists of employees from around 25 different countries, who have a wide range of skills and cultural knowledge that puts us as a team in a good position to create gaming experiences that are appreciated globally,  

Our community is our most important asset, and members will have many new and innovative opportunities to interact with us and other players through our new player portal, "Starbreeze Accounts", which was launched in October. This portal connects our different products, and when the user logs into the game, they gain access to additional features and content. Work on developing the service is in full swing, and our strategy is to launch features on an ongoing basis up to and after the release of PAYDAY 3. Our ambition is to provide our players with the best possible service and content – regardless of platform and game.

We continued the work on developing and implementing a long-term strategy for Starbreeze during the fall. We have previously announced our ambition to have more games on the market, self-published and self-developed or based on licensed IP, by 2025. We will make regular announcements on how and when we are broadening our IP portfolio with more strong IP and partnerships.  In addition, we are also working to broaden the business model around the PAYDAY IP to create additional revenue streams when PAYDAY 3 launches in 2023.

Overall, we are continuing to see a growing community for PAYDAY 2, while the development of PAYDAY 3 is on track. The fact that we are continuing to improve our financial performance demonstrates the strength of our strategy and the skills of our team. We are continuing to work on delivering on our long-term goals: to create games where players can work together and take part in creating their gaming experience, and on creating a basis for the launch of more games in the future.

Tobias Sjögren

CEO Starbreeze

For more information, please contact:

Mats Juhl, CFO
Tel: +46(0)8-209 229, email: ir@starbreeze.com

This information is information that Starbreeze AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on February 16, 2022.

About Starbreeze

Starbreeze is an independent developer and creator of PC and console targeting the global market, with studios in Stockholm, Barcelona and Paris. Housing the smash hit IP PAYDAY, Starbreeze develops games based on proprietary and third-party rights, both in-house and in partnership with external game developers. Starbreeze shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under the tickers STAR A and STAR B with the ISIN-codes SE0007158928 (A share) and SE0005992831 (B share). For more information, please visit starbreeze.com