Beyond Frames Entertainment AB (publ) Half Year Report Q2 2024

Beyond's diversified portfolio strategy continues to deliver a Steady Recurring Revenues and a Record-Breaking H1
 

Second quarter, April 1 -  June 30, 2024

• Sales amounted to 41,174 (43,291) kSEK
• Operating profit before depreciation and amortization and shares in associated companies' earnings (EBITDA) amounted to -551 (4,360) kSEK
• Profit after financial items amounted to -8,832  (1,265) kSEK
• EBITDA per share amounted to 0.03 (0.25) SEK
• Profit per share after financial items amounted to SEK -0.51 (0.07) SEK
• Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter amounted to 14,319
• (24,205) kSEK. This compares to 20,139 kSEK at the end of the previous quarter.
• Equity attributable to the parent company's shareholders in the Group amounted to 74,628 kSEK at the end of the quarter, corresponding to 4.31 SEK per share, compared with 87,107 kSEK, corresponding to 5.08 SEK per share at the end of the corresponding quarter last year.

First half year, Jan 1 - June 30, 2024

• Sales amounted to 100,789 (60,566) kSEK, an increase of 66.4% compared to the first half of 2023
• Operating profit before depreciation and amortization and shares in associated companies' earnings (EBITDA) amounted to 7,459 (4,111) kSEK
• Profit after financial items amounted to -8,166 (-2,158) kSEK
• EBITDA per share amounted to 0.43 (0.24) SEK
• Profit per share after financial items amounted to SEK -0.48 (-0.13) SEK

Comparative figures refer to the corresponding period of the previous year unless otherwise stated.

Beyond Frames Entertainment started the year strong and continues to deliver steady recurring revenues on-top of the fully-funded pipeline of projects with built-in audiences (launching periodically between now and 2026)

Q2 2024 represents the best H1 and second-strongest Q2 revenue performance in Beyond's history. We anticipated a decrease in revenues and EBITDA from Q2 2023 due to Ghosts of Tabor having been in market for over a year, and are encouraged by the limited revenue softening one year later. These steady recurring revenues help bolster our baseline, which will help drive overall growth as our new titles launch between now and 2026.

A temporary dip in EBITDA this quarter, compared to Q1 2024, was driven primarily by a ramping up of investments for the multiple titles currently in production in our Studios which will return to normal levels in Q3 2024, as well as increased marketing costs within our Publishing division which we expect to recoup in coming quarters. EBIT for Q2 and for H1, compared to the same periods last year, is impacted by our conservative depreciation model of capitalized development costs, where we start to depreciate already during development, resulting in an increased depreciation costs as we have multiple titles ramping up production.   

Q2 was relatively quiet compared to the rocket fuel accelerant that was the re-launch of Ghosts of Tabor. That said, our Publishing and Studio teams are still hard at work developing and producing additional titles, investing for the future, and are excited about the six fully-funded, between our internal resources and external partners, titles planned for launch between now and H1 2026. 

Publishing continues to build
Publishing continues to work with Ghost of Tabor's studio, Combat Waffle, on the production of their next 2 titles, GRIM and Silent North. Both titles have gained significant traction on Discord and other social platforms ahead of their launches, which we anticipate by H1 2025.

After the quarter, Ghosts of Tabor launched its new downloadable content, the "Eastwood Pack," which contains Western-style items. Publishing also announced the imminent launch of Ghosts of Tabor on the PlayStation VR2, which is expected to hit stores later this year.

During August, our Publishing team and I will be in Germany at the annual Gamescom gaming convention meeting studios for potential publishing deals. Beyond Frames is also participating as founding member in the Home of XR megabooth activation, gathering 13 XR studios in one place, which is the first of its kind at this scale. We will showcase Escaping Wonderland as well as Combat Waffle's two upcoming games under Beyond Frames Publishing for press and creators during three intense days.

Cortopia goes back down the Rabbit Hole
In Q2, we finally announced one of the titles slated for release by Cortopia Studios, Escaping Wonderland, a VR puzzle adventure game inspired by Cortopia's award-winning Down the Rabbit Hole. Down the Rabbit Hole has made a 400% ROI since its launch and we hope to mimic this success when the game launches on September 26.

Cortopia still has two additional titles in production: 1 title is a sequel to one of the best-selling VR games of all time, and the other is a VR game based on a massive Hollywood intellectual property. Both have received millions in funding (USD) from external partners, which we collect upon delivery of major production milestones. We look forward to sharing more about these titles in the coming quarters.

Meta's Reality Labs beating expectations
Meta announced that sales of the Quest 3 hardware that launched late 2023 are outpacing their expectations and posted a 28% increase for their Reality Labs division compared to Q2 2023. Additionally, rumors are heating up about a cheaper version of the Quest 3 to hit this year, which will help sales across our entire portfolio, especially with our casual-leaning line-up.

Strengthen our Board and the management
During Q2 we have further strengthened our Board, adding Arvid Klingström and Patrick Bach as well as appointed Fredrik Burvall as new Chairman. Both Arvid and Patrick have 20+ years' experience from the gaming industry, working at King, Paradox, Ubisoft and Dice. Fredrik brings an extensive background in growing companies both organic and through mergers and acquisitions and capital expansion. Mikael Söderström has declined re-election, and the company is grateful for his contribution building Beyond Frames Entertainment to what it is today. During Q2 Emma Partin was appointed as CFO of the Group. Emma Partin brings 15 years of extensive experience in management consulting from Deloitte, where she has been instrumental in guiding international companies through Finance strategies and transformation programs, IPOs preparations, mergers and acquisitions, and post-merger integration.

Looking ahead
It goes without question that improving our margins and achieving positive cash flow are top priorities for us. Our path to hitting our profitability goals lies with shipping premium products fit for the market. With a fully-funded slate of six titles, which includes a follow-up to our best-selling game, a sequel to a category-leading title, another game attached to a major entertainment property, a non-VR title under development by the Odd Raven studio, and two more by our Game of the Year award-winning studio partner, we believe we're on the right track and also see opportunities for further expansion.

Thanks to our players, staff, partners, and stakeholders for your continued support.

Ace St. Germain, CEO Beyond Frames Entertainment AB (publ)

This information is such information as Beyond Frames Entertainment is obliged to publish in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The report was submitted, through the care of the below contact person, for publication on August 22, 2024, at 08:00 CET. The financial information in this report has not been reviewed by the company's auditor.