Fresh Frontier as Cambridge games doyen’s shares surge

The stock was almost 26 per cent ahead – up 48p a share – at 233p as the unaudited interim results for the six months to November 30 were unveiled yesterday.

The strong turnaround in financial performance in H1 FY25 followed a return to profitability in the second half of FY24. Revenue of £47.3m million was in line with management's expectations.

Actions taken in the preceding financial year to reduce costs and reshape the company delivered a turnaround in profitability of more than £9 million to an Adjusted EBITDA profit of £4.4m.

An improved cash position of £27.2m at November 30 grew to £30.5m by the end of December – and that is before receipt of December revenue.

Business Weekly advised stockholders last year to stick with the business as it worked behind the scenes to initiate the fightback. That included a review of its portfolio.

Planet Coaster 2 achieved the #1 chart position on Steam at release on November 6 and contributed 22 per cent of total revenue in H1 FY25, despite launching less than four weeks before the end of the period.

The game looks a great addition to Frontier's portfolio of creative management simulation games and is set to provide significant revenue contributions over many years, Frontier says.

Total sales of Planet Coaster 2 across all platforms – PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X – exceeded 400,000 base game units within two months of release, including through planned price promotions in December. Its predecessor, Planet Coaster, also sold well during the festive period, including through a deep discount on Steam.

Frontier says the substantial number of new Planet Coaster players added through those price promotions provides a further opportunity to grow the Planet Coaster 2 community over time.

Planet Coaster 2 is the first of three CMS games confirmed through the strategic reset undertaken in FY23-FY24, with the next being a third Jurassic World game, coming in FY26.

The long-term strength of Frontier's CMS-led strategy was again evidenced in the period through the ongoing sales performance of Frontier's back catalogue of established CMS games, led by Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution 2.

Outside of CMS games, Frontier's genre-leading space simulation game, Elite Dangerous, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in December, achieved a substantial increase in revenue through new story elements and the release of both free and chargeable content.

On July 23, F1® Manager 2024 was released on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. This built on the strengths of Frontier's first two F1® Manager games with the addition of the Create A Team mode to allow players to bring their own 11th team to the grid.

After the end of the trading period, strong sales across the portfolio in the Steam winter sale and other price promotion events delivered Frontier's third-highest festive sales performance, surpassed only by the stay-at-home boosted years of 2020 and 2021.

The board remains confident of delivering FY25 revenue and profitability in line with expectations following the strong performance achieved in the first seven months.

CEO Jonny Watts said: “It was great to see Planet Coaster 2 release in November, the first of three CMS games we scheduled through our strategic reset last year. We are working hard to support and nurture the game as its player community grows.

“Our established portfolio of CMS games continues to deliver and, as we begin 2025, I look ahead with excitement to our third Jurassic World game, coming in FY26. I remain confident in our team's ability to deliver on our exciting roadmap and look forward to the years ahead.”