Irish video game specialist Keyword Studios saw revenue jump by 35 per cent to €691 million last year on the back of what the company said was “sustained demand for high quality content and a continuing trend towards external service provision”.
The Dublin-headquartered, London-listed group said it was continuing to enhance its technology platform through both acquisition and increased adoption of technologies.
The company, which provides services to 23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies, said adjusted pretax profits rose 30 per cent to €112 million while the final dividend for the year will be 1.60p per share, an increase of 10 per cent on 2021 levels.
It said it delivered five acquisitions for a total maximum consideration of €140 million in 2022, which strengthened its “create, engage and technology offerings and capabilities”.
“We delivered an excellent performance in 2022, demonstrating the strength of our platform and the dedication and hard work of the 12,000 people within Keywords. Whilst mindful of the increasing uncertainty within the broader industry and potential for foreign exchange movements, we are excited about the opportunity ahead with our business model, highly diversified client base, adoption of technology and geographic reach,” chief executive Bertrand Bodson said.
“We are increasingly well positioned to support our clients in generating engaging content for their leading franchises and trading has started well, in line with our expectations for the year,” he said.
“We expect to continue to see robust demand for content generation as our clients seek to capture the imagination of the three billion gamers globally. We continue to have a healthy pipeline of acquisition opportunities to broaden our capabilities, geographic footprint and service offerings,” Mr Bodson said.
“This, together with our organic growth, will enable us to continue to grow market share, and build upon our position as the partner of choice for the global video games industry, and beyond,” he said.
