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Gameloft attempts to fight off Vivendi, announcing 2018 sales target of $390 million

The plan for 2016-2018

Gameloft attempts to fight off Vivendi, announcing 2018 sales target of $390 million

Given it's in the process of fighting off a hostile takeover bid from Vivendi, French mobile developer Gameloft has set out its vision for a Vivendi-free future.

It can certainly put together some big figures.

  • It has 21 development studios and over 6,000 staff.
  • It has over 200 billing and distribution partners in over 100 countries.
  • That's why it ranked #2 in the world in 2015 in terms of game downloads.
  • And its games reach 166 million players on a monthly basis.

Hits needed

Of course, it knows that recent growth and profitability have been weak.

So it highlighted that it's shut down 10 studios, which will save around $39 million.

Cost savings aren't sufficient, of course. It needs hit games. Gameloft didn't say where they were coming from.

But, in terms of financial plans, it says it's now entering "a new phase of profitable growth", in which it hopes to hit the following targets.

  • 2018 sales target of more than $390 million of which c. 30% will be from its direct advertising platform.
  • Current operating profit target of more than $73 million in 2018.
  • Cumulative free cash flow target of more than $95 million over 2016-2018.

And, in order to explain in more depth, it's having an investors day to try to win shareholders over.

For its part, Vivendi said the deal would add value to both companies, with Vivendi helping the troubled Gameloft improve its 'industrial and financial levers'.

Vivendi also pointed to the companies' shared commonalities, including their French roots, international focus, and a similar understanding of cultural diversity.


Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.