Nazara Jumps Nearly 6% Intraday After Q3 Profit Rises 46% YoY

Gaming major Nazara Technologies’ shares gained almost 6% during the intraday trading on Wednesday (February 7), a day after the company reported its financial results for the December quarter of 2023.

Nazara shares reached as high as INR 906.75 apiece on the BSE during Wednesday’s trading. However, the stock shed some of the gains during the day to end the session 2.14% higher at INR 884.45.

Nazara’s consolidated net profit jumped over 46% to INR 29.5 Cr in the third quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 20.1 Cr in the year-ago period.

However, operating revenue rose a mere 2% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 320.4 Cr in Q3 FY24. This was a 7% increase sequentially from INR 297.2 Cr.

Although the company’s gaming and adtech vertical’s revenue declined, esports vertical continued to be Nazara’s growth engine as it contributed a revenue of INR 193.7 Cr to the parent’s kitty in Q3 FY24, up 27% YoY.

“Recent acquisitions are propelling the expansion of product offerings and market presence,” the company said.

Its total expenditure grew marginally by 0.3% to INR 301 Cr in Q3 FY24 against INR 300 Cr in the year-ago period.

The company also said that the GST Council’s decision to levy 28% GST on full face value of bets for real-money gaming had some impact on its financials during the quarter under review. Nazara said that the new tax levy has predominantly been absorbed by the company.

It also said that gross revenue (before netting loyalty promotion bonuses) continued to be steady while net revenue suffered on account of higher loyalty promotion expenses.

The gaming giant said its real-money game ‘Classic Rummy’ suffered an EBITDA loss in Q3 FY24 on account of these ‘added GST costs’.

Amid this, Nazara is increasing its focus on gaming studios. Last month, Nazara announced partnerships with four Indian game studios to publish five casual and mid-core games in India.

The company is planning to publish ‘Gravity Shooter’ by Smash Head Studios, ‘World Cricket League’ from Wandermind Labs’, ‘Hacked: Password Puzzle’ by Pixcell Play and ATG Studios’ ‘Laser Tanks’ and ‘Paperly’.

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