Codemasters doubles revenue year on year in H1 trading update

A half-year trading update from Codemasters for the six months ending September 30th has shown huge year-on-year growth. Revenues more than double for the period to £80.5m up from £39.8m for the same period last year. Profits (EBITDA) will also more than double, hitting circa £21m, up from £9.4m.

This came off the back of an acceleration in digital shift, with 73 per cent of sales, up from 61.7 per cent for the same period last year. That pushed gross margin up to 92.9 per cent from 89.3 per cent. The company is now sitting on net cash of £49.8m, up from £24.6m last year. 

The company noted that sales benefitted from the launch of “F1 2020, Fast & Furious Crossroads, Project CARS 3” as well as the “continued sales of the Company’s back catalogue of games – in particular F1 2019 and DiRT Rally 2.0.” 

It particularly noted that F1 2020 had outperformed the previous years edition. With increased sales in the US on the back of the growth in popularity of the sport. And it expects the game to continue to do well over the holiday season. 

The period also saw a payoff from the acquisition of Slightly Mad Studios in November 2019 with two titles coming from the studio. “Fast & Furious Crossroads and Project CARS 3 were launched on 7 August 2020 and 28 August 2020 respectively.  Both titles were published by Bandai Namco Entertainment on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC and revenues from these titles in H1 2021 were in line with the Company’s expectations.”

The update also made a nod to the diversification of the digital sales landscape, mentioning the benefits of an “ever-increasing number of digital channels for exploitation”. 

Codemasters next big title will be DIRT 5, which will release on all formats, both current and next-gen in early November, and on Stadia at a later date.

For an indepth look at the company’s ongoing strategy and outlook read our interview with CEO Frank Sagnier and Clive Moody SVP Product Development.