The Stockholm listed online casino games and software provider, NetEnt released impressive and record-breaking 2016 numbers recently, showing a full-year revenue jump of over 28% and a profit growth of 35%. For the first time since NetEnt expanded beyond its native borders, the UK gambling market has become its biggest, and the group’s CEO said that Great Britain still offers NetEnt excellent potential for growth.
In the last three months of 2016, NetEnt’s revenue rose 24% to SEK 400 million or $45.1 million. After tax profits climbed to SEK 150 million – a surge of 30%, while operating profit jumped 28% to SEK 156 million.
The last quarter capped an overall excellent year for NetEnt, which showed revenue climbing to a record total of SEK 1.45 billion, operating profit up one-third to SEK 536 million and profits soaring to SEK 504 million (35%).
One of the key reasons for NetEnt’s continued success is that it has a constant flow of new casino operators signing up to license its portfolio of games. In 2016 alone, NetEnt broke its own record by signing up 45 new customers. It helped launch 35 casinos that work off its platform, while another 31 are in the process of launching.
Its biggest regional market is undoubtedly the United Kingdom (with NetEnt most recently signing a deal with the Irish gaming giant, Paddy Power), while the group also made footprints in Bulgaria, Mexico and Portugal.
“2016 was another exciting year for NetEnt with new record levels in revenues, earnings and cash flow,” said the CEO of NetEnt, Per Eriksson in a statement. “The fourth quarter developed well – revenues increased by 23.9% and the operating margin improved to 39%.”
“Great Britain continues to offer great growth potential for us and in December, it became our largest geographical market for the first time.”
As a result, exposure to NetEnt’s games among online casino players continues to be massive; a fact that will surely help the group as it moves into 2017. NetEnt has no doubt that its first quarter of the year will match its impressive 2017 Q4 performance.
Eriksson said that, looking ahead in 2017, NetEnt sees conditions for continued solid growth, “supported by a strong pipeline of new games, UK, mobile, new customers to launch as well as our expansion in North America.”