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5th Planet Games A/S — Earnings Release 2016
Oct 12, 2016
8162_iss_2016-10-12_ba981f95-88f6-438b-bada-129613bd444f.pdf
Earnings Release
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Announcement no. 54/2016 Copenhagen, 12 October 2016
Hugo Gamesrevises product strategy and modifies expectations for 2016.
Copenhagen, October 12, 2016 – Hugo Games A/S (OAX: HUGO) a mobile interactive entertainment developer and publisher of mobile games have reprioritized the product strategy due to the positive development with the FC Barcelona football game that will be launched in 2017, but has scaled back expectations for 2016.
Following these highlights:
- a. Recent agreement with FC Barcelona and the company's strengthened focus within the sports games genre and the potential Hugo Games sees in this category. Further; the development with the FC Barcelona football game is progressing in a promising way – and the fact that the game is related to a more promising game category makes Hugo Games maintain expectations towards the performance of the FC Barcelona game next year.
- b. The cooperation with PlayNGo and the recent launch of a Hugo Slot game has exceeded expectations in terms of users and revenue and the company will report in more details with regard to the results once user metrics can be analyzed over a longer period. A cooperation that already has proven to the company that a strategy with increased use of license agreements around the company's IP's is showing a promising potential in terms of revenue and yet being very cost effective.
- c. Doodle Jump 2 (working title) is also progressing positively and the ongoing process with Doodle Jump licensee, Lima Sky, is very fruitful and constructive.
- d. The company's original expectations in terms of monetization and users of the "Ronaldo Kick'n'Run" - despite the game is being among the best rated "Endless Runner" games worldwide are not expected to be met. It shows that the game and the game-genre itself is difficult to monetize properly on unless millions of daily users can be achieved.
- e. Based on the experience with KickNRun Hugo Games has chosen to investigate the possibilities of a changed game category for "Cam Newton Football" which is why a new launch date currently is unknown.
f. Building the user base for Flower Flush has been more challenging than expected within the general match-3 category due to a very competitive environment. However, the game reviews are good - and a series of category competitive updates are being developed and implemented. As a result of this - and as stated in the latest interim report - the company's second match-3 title, "Fashion Fabulous", will be postponed until "Flower Flush" has been turned into a successful title in terms of retention and number of users.
It can be concluded that:
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- The company's Financial Guidance for 2016 will not be reached and will result in an impairment of capitalized development costs. However, the cost cannot yet be quantified with sufficient certainty before the revised product strategy has been finalized.
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- The company sees a very exciting 2017 with some very strong projects with the realistic potential of bringing the company into positive cash-flow territory.
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- The board of directors has revised the product strategy with the aim to make the company cash flow positive in a foreseeable future by:
- Investigating and expanding in games and game categories with higher earning potential, being e.g.; the cooperation with Lima Sky, the soccer game with FC Barcelona.
- Investigating further the possibility of entering into corporation opportunities/joint ventures within license agreements and game development with the purpose reaching an international audience via strong partners and yet at the same time reducing ongoing development costs. The cooperation with PlayNGo around the Hugo Slot game earns as a benchmark.
- Strengthening company and development focus to achieve cash flow positive operations.
As a result of the described development the company's earlier addressed pipeline will also be altered.
Future Pipeline update
| Game | Release | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street Soccer Ultimate | Q4 2016 | Sports Game | On Schedule |
| Nyjah Huston: Super Skater | Q4 2016 | Celebrity IP | On Schedule |
| Hugo Nordic | Q1 2017 | Hugo the Troll IP | Soft Launch Q1 |
| Doodle Jump 2 | 2017 | IP Partnership | Release H2 2017 |
| FC Barcelona | 2017 | Celebrity IP Sports Game | Release H2 2017 |
| Cam Newton Football | Unknown | Celebrity IP Sports Game | Postponed |
| Fashion Fabulous | Unknown | Match | Postponed |
Reporting and Financial Guidance
The company has decided that it will no longer communicate a Financial Guidance as the uncertainties within game development are too volatile as a single product or event can affect key figures dramatically. Going forward the company will report whenever appropriate as it is customary for smaller companies similar to Hugo Games.
Finally, the company has decided to use the option of no longer releasing quarterly interim reports as this have required excessive resources and are costly for a company of the size of Hugo Games. Furthermore, this will enable the company to aim and work on a more long-term strategy.
About Hugo Games
Hugo Games is a Nordic mobile games publisher and developer located in Copenhagen. At Hugo Games we are passionate about games and we are committed to making titles that will engage and bring genuine joy to people for years. We have a consistent portfolio of games globally available across a wide range of platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Amazon and Facebook.
More information available at www.hugogames.com