Gaming technical services firm Keywords Studios is expecting revenues of at least €150 million ($186.7 million) for its 2017 fiscal year.

If it meets expectations, revenues will have grown 55% year-on-year. Profits before tax are expected to reach €22.5 million ($28 million), an increase of 51% year-on-year.

The reason for this growth is Keywords' acquisition strategy, which has seen it add 11 companies to its business in 2017. The acquisitions cost a total of €89.1 million ($110.9 million), but Keywords still has €30.5 million ($37.9 million) in cash which it plans to use for further acquisitions in 2018.

Bigger and bigger

"We are delighted with the Group's performance as we grew revenues and profits strongly again this year. Our ever-increasing geographic footprint and broader range of services have combined to grow market share, introduce additional services to established clients and win new clients," said Keywords CEO Andrew Day.

"The eleven acquisitions in 2017 demonstrate strong progress in our strategy to selectively consolidate the fragmented video games market and generate synergies through scale, and our entry into engineering and particularly co-development, enhances our positioning as a strategic partner to game developers and publishers, whilst continuing to ensure we are not directly exposed to the commercial performance of individual titles."

Keywords' biggest acquisitions of 2017 were QA studio VMC in October 2017 and work-for-hire firm Sperasoft in December 2017. The purchases cost $66 million and $27 million respectively.