Revenue up at Rovio, though high user acquisition costs impact operating profit

The end of Rovio’s Q3 sees the company with year-over-year gains in revenue for both its game division and the group as a whole, though operating profit came in below estimates.

That decline in adjusted operating profit, down to €5.4 million (~$6 million) from last year’s €10.4 million (~$11.6 million), is due to the fact that Rovio spent more on user acquisition during the quarter than first anticipated. As a whole, user acquisition costs ate up 40.8 percent of game revenue, up from 28.2 percent the year prior.

Most of that cost was due to Angry Birds Dream Blast, a Q4 2018 release, but UA costs for Angry Birds 2 also rose due in part to an attempt to cash in on the Angry Birds 2 movie that released during the quarter.

Looking just at Rovio’s video game dealings, revenue for the quarter came in at €66.4 million (~$73.8 million), up 5.2 percent from last year’s €63.1 million ($70.1 million). All of the studio’s older games declined in terms of gross bookings year-over-year. The relatively new release Angry Birds Dream Blast is the only title mentioned that saw growth in Q3, with the company reporting €17.8 million (~$19.8 million) in gross bookings from Dream Blast alone.

The group as a whole, including Rovio’s game, licensing, and other business dealings, reported €74.8 million (~$83.2 million) in revenue for the quarter, up 5 percent year-over-year.