French computer games publisher Cryo Interactive SA returned to profitability in 1998, with net income of 870,000 euros ($945,000) on revenue that was up 60.2% at 23.7m euros ($25.8m). This compared to a loss of $1.0m in 1997.
Cryo has yet to publish the definitive figures for last year, but CEO Jean-Martial Lefranc has already announced highlights. The company reckons that its revenue puts it in third place in the French computer games market, behind Infogrames and UbiSoft. Lefranc said 70% of last year’s revenues came from games on CD-ROM, of which around two-thirds were sold outside France.
Also last year, the Paris-based company floated a 33% stake on Paris’s Nouveau Marche small-cap exchange (CI No 3555), raising some $9m for projects which included foreign acquisitions and the development of its online gaming operation.
The latter is known as Cryo Network and even before the December IPO this part of the business generated annual revenue of FF16.8m ($2.8m). This year, thanks to the leverage of the IPO funds, this division has launched a real-time space odyssey game called Mankind and expects to see its contribution to overall revenue growing as a result.
As for the acquisition trail, Cryo is looking to follow market leader Infogrames’ example, with that company having acquired UK games company Gremlin Group Plc in March (CI No 3626).
In announcing the highlights, Lefranc said profitability had been hit last year by Cryo’s investments in in-house games development, but added that it is continuing to pursue this strategy in 1999, as it seeks to extend its portfolio of products for PCs and the latest consoles.
As for Cryo’s financial performance this year, Lefranc predicts a 40% increase in revenue, to FF220m ($36m), with a net profit in excess of FF10m ($1.6m).
