King revenues drop more than $100m year-on-year

Mobile giant King’s revenues and profits have both dipped year-on-year as Candy Crush spending slows. 

That’s according to the firm’s most recent financial report, which indicates that its revenues dipped 18 per cent year-on-year, representing a drop of $104m. Meanwhile, its profits dropped $46m (28 per cent) year-on-year.

In addition, the firm’s gross bookings also fell 13 per cent compared with Q2 of last year.

King blamed its losses in gross bookings and revenue on lower gross bookings from Candy Crush Saga which the firm says ‘continues to mature’ as players retain virtual currency for longer and don’t spend real money. Higher VAT due to new tax legislation in the EU, effective this year also played a role in the dip in gross bookings.

These losses are partially offset by higher gross bookings from its newer games and fewer new title launches, the mobile giant claims.

“Our second quarter 2015 gross bookings exceeded the high end of our guidance range and for the third consecutive quarter, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga and Farm Heroes Saga ranked within the top 10 grossing games in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the US,” said King CEO Riccardo Zacconi.

“These results reflect our execution on delivering new content and features in our franchise games and demonstrate the continued benefits from operating global mobile game franchises and the strength of their brands. We are also pleased to have recently launched Paradise Bay, our first resource management game, and Scrubby Dubby Saga, our first game with a slider mechanic, and look forward to introducing these fresh games to our massive player base and to players around the globe."

This story was originally published on our sister-site, MCV.