F1 and Dirt dev Codemasters posts first profit in five years

Three days after rescuing MotorStorm and DriveClub developer, Evolution Studios, Codemasters said it posted its first operational profit in five years. 

The racing specialist has seen an upturn in fortunes recently thanks to the success of franchises such as Dirt and F1, and is predicting "double digit" growth going forward. The privately-held studio did not provide specific financial figures.

Speaking to MCV, Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier, explained the studio had struggled to adapt to the changing face of the console industry and failed to immediately capitalize on the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

"The transition to the new machines has not been easy and in the last couple of years we have focused on what we are good at, doubling down on racing and cutting the areas which we didn’t feel were strategic for us," added the CEO.

"We have ended up in fiscal year 2016 with our first operational profit in five years, which is a big achievement.

"For as far as we can see, we are growing every year and we’re talking big double digits, we’re not talking about a few percent."