Gfinity upbeat on performance of digital media business

Esports and gaming solutions company Gfinity updated the market on the performance of Gfinity Digital Media on Tuesday, reporting that it was still growing its user base while increasing its “lucrative” US audience, and adding new partnerships including SteelSeries and TopCashBack.

The AIM-traded firm said Gfinity Digital Media was one of the fastest-growing revenue streams for the company.

Since the partnership with Venatus was implemented in mid-April, it had delivered close to £0.2m through on-site advertising by the end of July.

In addition, Gfinity Digital Media had been selected to deliver a “growing number” of repeat advertising campaigns for high-profile publishers, with a strong pipeline of direct campaigns already secured and running in August.

For example, the board said that following a competitive tender, the Denmark-based gaming peripherals company SteelSeries chose its web channels as a location to promote their collection of headsets, which was brokered between Venatus and Gfinity's direct sales team.

The firm said the Gfinity Digital Media channels had now been fully optimised for a strong fourth quarter and first quarter of 2021 of advertising campaigns and promotions, driven by the launch of new consoles, games and peripherals.

It had also strengthened its in-house media sales capability, adding a professional with deep experience gained at IGN media sales.

Overall, Gfinity Digital Media was expected to generate revenues of £2m in the financial year ending 30 June 2021, supporting Gfinity’s target of moving into profitability in the first quarter of 2021.

It said 50% of the total of Gfinityesports.com audience was now based in the US, which was “significant” as it contributed to higher advertising revenues across the site.

The company said it had also strengthened its position in the country with a new US editor, allowing for the steady flow of news around the clock, which was described as “particularly important” in the fourth quarter.

As part of its Gfinity Plus loyalty programme, the company also announced it had partnered with TopCashBack to provide deals and offers to its community, including discounts on new popular games.

Gfinity said it had also started to monetise a large proportion of its social channels, including Facebook.

In July, Gfinity Digital Media reached more than 20 million gamers on Facebook, which put the group in a “strong position” to drive significant revenue through that platform.

“Gfinity Digital Media continues to go from strength-to-strength,” said division head Talal Musa.

“Our sites have become popular destinations for the latest news on a number of games including FIFA, Fortnite, Call of Duty and Minecraft.

“We continue to attract increasing numbers of visitors each month, with StealthOptional, our new ecommerce focused site, experiencing a record number of users in July - more than 140,000.”

Musa said the business was “well-positioned” to leverage the opportunities that would come with the new console launches and AAA game releases towards the end of the year.

“Gfinity Digital Media plays a pivotal role in supporting our target of moving into profitability in the first quarter of 2021, and we are excited for what is to come.”

At 1442 BST, shares in Gfinity were up 7.94% at 3.67p.