After a mixed 2023, Playtika looks for additional M&A opportunities.

After a mixed 2023, Playtika looks for additional M&A opportunities.

 After a mixed 2023 for the social gaming firm, Playtika has outlined ambitions to pursue fresh M&A prospects during a "shift to reinvestment" during the coming year.
 In 2023, Playtika's revenue decreased by just 1.9% to $2.57 billion (£2.02 billion/€2.37 billion).  However, Playtika's net profit fell 17.9% as a result of increased expenses.

 The outcomes occurred in a year when Playtika expanded its holdings.  Playtika finished purchasing Innplay Labs for $300.0 million in September.  It also completed the acquisition of Azerion's Youda Games content portfolio in August.

 Rovio Entertainment, the company that created the Angry Birds video game series, had considered Playtika earlier in 2023.  After making multiple proposals, it eventually withdrew from consideration.  In August, Sega Sammy acquired Rovio.

 CEO Robert Antokol is considering new M&A opportunities as he looks back on 2023 and into the present year.  Due to the continuous unpredictability in Israel and Ukraine, Playtika was also considering other strategic options for the company, but this has been put on hold.

 "We've refined our efficiency focus and streamlined our operations over the past year, adjusting to changing industry dynamics in mobile gaming," Antokol stated.  "Now that we have a strong base, 2024 will see us move towards reinvestment and pursue M&A opportunities with a strategic capital deployment goal."

 Playtika's net profit declines despite expense reductions.
 Looking more closely at Playtika in 2023, third-party platforms produced the majority of revenue.  Here, revenue was $1.93 billion, a 4.0% decrease from the previous year. 

 The direct-to-consumer platforms accounted for the remaining $639.4 million in sales, a 5.4% increase.  Total revenue decreased, nevertheless, as this was insufficient to offset the fall in third-party platforms.

 In terms of expenses, spending decreased by 3.7% from 2022 to $2.07 billion.  At $718.5 million, revenue costs were the largest outflow, surpassing sales and marketing at $585.7 million.  In 2023, costs were lower everywhere.

 Playtika recorded an extra $109.5 million in interest revenue, resulting in an 8.7% increase in pre-tax profit of $392.1 million.  Tax expenses, meanwhile, increased to $157.1 million from $85.5 million the year before.

 Net profit decreased from $289.7 million in 2022 to $238.0 million when foreign exchange translation and changes in the fair value of derivatives were also taken into account.  Adjusted EBITDA, however, increased 3.4% to $832.2 million for the year.

 In Q4, net profit declines by 68.6%.
 As the year came to an end, Q4 revenue increased slightly by 1.1% to $637.9 million. 

 In terms of costs, expenditures rose 3.0% to $517.9 million.  With net financial income of $32.6 million, the pre-tax profit was $87.4 million, a 4.9% decrease from the year before.

 Playtika was hammered by tax payments once more; the $50.1 million paid in Q4 was significantly more than the $4.4 million paid in 2022.  As a result, net profit for the quarter was $33.4 million, down 68.6% year over year, after also factoring in other net costs of $3.9 million.