Azerion sees positive year of growth following acquisitions | Pocket Gamer.biz

Digital advertising and game company Azerion saw 149m Euros of revenue and 53m in gross profit for 2022, compared to 126m in revenue and 50m in profits for 2021.

The general increase of profitability shows that 2022 has generally been a positive year for the company, who handle aspects of digital advertising through their game platforms, as well as supporting publishers moving into the gaming industry. According to Azerion, although there was strong growth in advertising, their own games remained relatively stable in terms of KPI’s and revenue. While gross profit across their game platform portfolio rose from 78m Euros in 2021 to 121m Euros in 2022, their premium games only rose from 42.8m in gross profit in 2021 to 45m Euros in 2022.

Co-CEO Atilla Aytekin spoke about the company’s plans for the future going into 2023. “In 2022 we completed strategic acquisitions and simplified our reporting structure. Looking ahead, we will focus on growing our platform capabilities, while balancing our growth with a prudent financial framework. We will remain actively working on our M&A pipeline and as we target a capital structure that is more aligned with market practice, we announced the intention to cancel the majority of our treasury shares. In addition, we will also increase our focus on deleveraging our balance sheet in 2023.”

He also explained their decision to liquidate treasury shares. “The company’s success during a challenging macro environment supports our belief in the fundamental growth of our business. These developments allow us to use our cash flow to fund future growth and be less reliant on equity as a form of M&A currency going forward.”

A new player has entered the game

According to Azerion, one of the major points of growth for their gaming business in 2023 was their distribution portfolio. Although Azerion’s own games have remained steady, the real driver in growth has been the other games and publishers that they have partnered with. “We have grown our casual games distribution portfolio during Q4 2022, adding approximately 497 new titles and 493 new publisher partners.” They also noted that user engagement and IAP had been strong drivers for growth in their gaming business.

Overall, Azerion’s strong growth and decision to spend 2023 in a more bearish position indicates a confidence but caution in the game industry for the year, as the company seeks to build on a year of acquisitions in 2022.