“Lord of the Rings” proprietor Embracer Group delivered a combined bag throughout its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, revealing that whereas its adjusted working revenue had risen by 56% to 1.4 billion Swedish krona ($132 million), gross sales in its leisure and providers division – which at the moment homes its Tolkien and “Tomb Raider” IP – had dropped by 15%.
The Swedish-based gaming conglomerate additionally revealed CFO and deputy CEO Johan Ekström is about to step down after 5 years for private causes. He will stick with the corporate till subsequent March though from Sept. 1 he will likely be centered on splitting Embracer into three firms.
Ekström will likely be changed as CFO by present deputy CFO Müge Bouillon whereas Phil Rogers will tackle the function of deputy CEO of Embracer along with his present roles as CEO of Crystal Dynamics-Eidos and chief of Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, one of many three new firms that may emerge out of the shell of Embracer.
Covering the interval between Jan. and March 2024, the general rise in working revenue was pushed by the corporate’s tabletop video games division, which delivered gross sales of over $290 million because of a “better product mix,” the corporate stated. While PC and video games delivered the second largest drop in gross sales after leisure – falling by 10% — the division nonetheless delivered essentially the most gross sales, bringing in $291 million, driving gross sales for the group general.
Mobile video games confirmed a 4% enhance, delivering gross sales of $127 million.
That left the Entertainment and Games because the division with lowest gross sales, of $118 million down from $139 million, a lower of 15%. Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors put this all the way down to “fewer new releases and products compared to previous quarters.”
After the quarter it was revealed that two new “Lord of the Rings” movies are within the works at Warner Bros Discovery whereas Embracer’s Crystal Dynamics has inked a cope with Amazon to create new “Tomb Raider” movies and collection.
In a Q&A following the report, Wingefors stated Embracer has a “fair share of the profits” on any “Lord of the Rings” motion pictures set to come back out of Warner. “The two movies recently announced a few weeks ago they will obviously have an impact in 2026 when the first movie is released,” Wingefors stated. “And the agreement that we have with Warner was struck in the ’90s with New Line Cinema and it’s a beneficial agreement for both parties. It has notable potential royalty streams coming to us. The old movies have generated billions of revenues and we have a fair share of the profits on these so I’m excited. But we will not seen any contribution for that agreement this financial year.”
In the accompanying This fall report, Wingefors set out his imaginative and prescient for Middle-Earth enterprises, saying: “We see great potential in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ IP and believe the universe can become a key driver in the coming decades, with the aim to delight fans across the globe,” Wingefors stated. “New ‘Tomb Raider’ stories in streaming and film will allow us to further nurture and grow another unique IP, taking it to new heights. Strong partners, such as Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon MGM Studios, that complement our capabilities are an important part of our IP strategy.”
Embracer snapped up “Lord of the Rings” in 2022, paying $395 million for the rights to Middle-Earth Enterprises, which homes a variety of Tolkien IP, amidst a frenzied two-year shopping for spree that additionally included “Tomb Raider” proprietor Crystal Dynamics, comics firm Dark Horse and anime firm Anime Ltd.
Following international financial turmoil and a post-pandemic income drop in gaming, the tabletop and laptop video games firm has undergone a major restructure together with gross sales of firms and shuttering of video games studios. The This fall report reveals year-on-year headcount has dropped from 16,601 to 12,069.
Last month Embracer stated it deliberate to cut up the conglomerate into three publicly-listed firms: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.