Frontier Developments YTD trading ahead of original expectations

Videogames developer Frontier Developments said on Wednesday that year-to-date trading was ahead of original expectations.

Frontier said trading had been driven by strong performances from all four of its existing titles, including major new platform launches for Planet Coaster and Jurassic World Evolution in November.

The AIM-listed group said total revenue was approximately £37.0m for the first half of the trading year, which represents a 16% increase year-on-year.

Revenue in December, typically the biggest month of the year for videogames sales, was also stronger than expected across all four titles, with both base games and paid downloadable content selling ahead of expectations.

Chief executive David Braben said: "2020 was a hard year for a great many people because of the challenges of Covid-19. Despite this, and doubtless helped by lockdown boosting demand for screen-based entertainment around the world, we had a successful year through the hard work and adaptability of our talented teams.

"Our four great franchises have really long play times and engaging social aspects to them, which make them well-suited to lockdown."

As of 1025 GMT, Frontier shares were down 2.63% at 3,286.10p.