Positive outlook for listed video games company

The chairman of video games business Sumo Group, which has a base in Sheffield, will today tell an AGM that the firm is well placed to exploit growth in the global games market.

Ken Beaty will address the SUMO Group AGM at 11am at the Mercure Sheffield Parkway.

The firm is nearly halfway through its second year as an AIM quoted company.

Beaty said: “Our talented and highly skilled people, our proprietary technologies and systems and our close relationships with the world’s largest AAA games publishers give us a significant competitive advantage, which will enable us to leverage the increasing opportunities presented by our fast-growing global market.

“The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment reports the UK market for games was valued at a record of £5.7bn in 2018, representing +10.0% growth on the previous year.

“Newzoo expects the global games market to grow from $152.1bn in 2019 to $196bn by 2022.

“This leaves us full of optimism for the future, and the Group’s business development pipeline is currently very strong.

“Five of the largest businesses in the world, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Tencent are actively driving growth in our industry, so the demand for content has never been higher.

“In January 2019, the Group acquired Red Kite Games, a successful work-for-hire studio focusing on engineering and code support services.

“The studio has worked with Sumo Digital for several years, on a range of titles, in addition to many other high-profile publishers and developers including Codemasters (DiRT 4), Sony Computer Entertainment (God of War III: Remastered) and Activision (Call of Duty: Strike Team).

“Red Kite Games has performed in line with management expectations since acquisition.

“This acquisition follows the addition of a studio in Newcastle, formerly CCP Games, in January 2018 and The Chinese Room in August 2018.

“We continue to execute on our stated organic growth strategy and, given the fragmented nature of our market, are actively exploring opportunities to further accelerate expansion through acquisition.

“The Group also opened a new studio in Leamington Spa, earlier this year, to focus on opportunities in mobile game development.

“I am pleased to report that the Company is trading in line with current market expectations and with its strengthening cash profile the business is well positioned to take advantage of the strong growth in the global video games market.

“The Board is, therefore, confident about the outlook for the Group in the current financial year and beyond.”

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