Astralis reports insignificant revenue growth for 2020

Danish esports organization Astralis Group has published its financial report for 2020.

The publicly listed company has announced "satisfactory" annual financial results, which are "in line with expectations," the press release said.

Here are some key financial metrics (all converted from Danish krone to British pound sterling):

• Increase in net revenue from £ 5.59 million in 2019 to £ 5.93 million in 2020 (66% of revenue comes from sponsorships).
• Improved EBITDA from - £ 2.61 million in 2019 to - £ 1.67 million in 2020.
• EBIT declined from - £ 4.65m in 2019 to - £ 5.76m in 2020. This difference is due to an increase in depreciation charges.

Additional key points:

• While most esports organizations rely on regular funding rounds, Astralis expects not to need new capital in 2021 despite negative cash flow.
• Cash flow was positively impacted by the fact that payments of the League of Legends franchise were delayed until 2021 and 2022 due to COVID-19.

Optimistic forecast for 2021:

• Management expects sponsorship revenues to increase 44 percent and league revenues 86 percent, while team-specific operating expenses are expected to remain nearly unchanged with an expected 3 percent increase.

Operational targets for 2021:

• Scaling the performance model with new teams and players.
• Acquisition and creation of new brands to expand their portfolio.
• Improving the commercial platform through digital and physical channels.

The organization's CEO, Anders Hersholt, also mentioned potential revenue growth from franchise and media rights.