New listing Winking Studios has reported a 71.6% earnings jump for its FY2023, even after taking into account IPO expenses.
For the year to Dec 31 2023, the company, which describes itself as a leading game art outsourcing studio, reported profit after tax of US$1.78 million, versus US$1.04 million recorded for FY2022.
Revenue in the same period was up 19.5% y-o-y to US$29.3 million, thanks to new contracts from US and Korea.
The better bottom line was helped by effective cost control and the establishment of a new performance and reward assessment system, which helped raise gross profit margin by 5.6 percentage points to 31.9% in FY2023 from 26.3% in FY2022
As at Dec 31 2023, the company held cash and cash equivalents of US$16.4 million, up from US$6.1 million as at Dec 31 2022, with no borrowings.
Winking Studios, whose indirect and substantial shareholder is Taiwan PC giant Acer, plans to pay a special cash dividend of 0.5 cents per share.
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Johnny Jan, executive chairman and CEO calls the gaming industry a "very competitive" one, fought over by many players.
"At the same time, it is also a fast-growing industry driven by the increasing acceptance of gaming as a lifestyle," says Jan, citing how the global mobile gaming market is projected to reach a revenue of US$189.3 billion in 2024.
“With our established reputation, cutting-edge capabilities, and close partnership with longstanding customers, and funds from our recent IPO to finance our growth plans, I believe we are well positioned to further expand our market share both regionally and globally.
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"We are actively exploring potential strategic acquisitions and continuous investments in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence technology to further strengthen our competitive edge.”
Shortly after the company listed last November, it announced the planned acquisition of Taiwan-based On Point Creative for NT$59.9 million ($2.6 million).
OPC is described as a design studio specialising in art outsourcing services and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Game Hours, which is listed on the Taipei Exchange.
This move is in line with Winking Studio's business strategy to pursue acquisitions to boost sales, capabilities and market presence globally.
