Publisher tinyBuild has seen over 75% in its stock price evaporate amidst a profit warning and the departure of a major executive.
tinyBuild today issued its financial statement noting that H1 2023 had performed "below expectations".
In amongst the bad news for investors they also reported that, "After a short period of leave for personal reasons, Tony Assenza, CFO, has resigned from the Company and the Board with immediate effect." Assenza will be replaced by Giasone Salati.
The shortfall was partially attributed to how “the market backdrop has become increasingly challenging with distribution platforms reducing investment.”
Although tinyBuild were quick to point to a glut of new titles and plans for monetisable events, as well as the continued performance of their back catalogue, it seems investor confidence was sufficiently shaken to produce a sudden downturn in the company's fortunes.
According to the London Stock Exchange, tinyBuild’s stock is down by 78% as of the time of writing, and analysts have said the drop may be worse than Embracer’s after their recent poor financials and loss of a $2bn deal.
tinyBuild's share price has been on a general down trajectory following a high of £293 in April 2021. At the time of writing shares are valued at £7.30.
"I am disappointed"
As part of the downbeat reporting CEO of tinyBuild, Alex Nichiporchik said, "As CEO and a major shareholder, I am disappointed with the H1 performance. What fills me with confidence is that we have an incredibly strong pipeline of new games under development with the potential to create multiple new long-lasting franchises.
"Our diverse portfolio, strong back catalogue and financial position will allow us to reposition the Company for growth and capture advantageous opportunities when peers may be forced to retrench. We are transforming the Company at speed to adapt to new industry trends."
"On a personal note, I am sorry to see Tony leave the team and wish him the best for the future. At the same time, I am delighted to have Jaz as our new CFO and Michael as our CCO: their competencies and drive will be key to accelerate growth, while ensuring financial discipline and maintaining the positive culture we have built at tinyBuild."
Non of which was able to avert a major run on the shares today as investors hurried to take their cash out of the company.
Hello bankruptcy
tinyBuild had previously made purchases of a number of other studios and has released a number of titles. However, it seems that despite this they simply couldn’t keep up with their projections, and this has shaken investor confidence in the company sharply.
At a time when many companies are making layoffs, despite a resurgence in M&A predicted by analysts like Drake Star, we've also seen layoffs and cutbacks at a number of studios.
