Keywords Studios profits jump in first half of 2022

Pretax profits at Dublin-based Keywords Studios surged, as the company continued on the acquisition trail and boosted its dividend.

The firm, which provides services to the video games industry, said pretax earnings for the first six months of the year rose 78.2 per cent to €39.1 million. Revenue increased by just over a third to €321.1 million. Stripping out acquisitions, sales gained 21.7 per cent.

This was “a strong performance in the first half, with a heightened focus on high-quality content and the continued trend towards external service provision in the industry, driving healthy demand across our service lines.,” chief executive Bertrand Bodson said in a statement. “Initial trading in the second half has been encouraging and we are confident of delivering a performance in line with the recently upgraded market expectations for the full year,” he added.

Keywords spent €67.9 million on three deals, including a move to buy game developer Smoking Gun Interactive. Deals for Forgotten Empires and Mighty Games closed in August, it said.