Embracer posts earnings beat on PC, console strength, driving up shares

By Jesus Calero

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Embracer reported first-quarter earnings above market expectations on Thursday, as better PC and console performance and lower development spending lifted cash earnings, sending the gaming group's shares 9% higher.

Cash earnings before interest and taxes, Embracer's key profit measure, swung to 47 million Swedish crowns from a loss of 99 million crowns a year earlier.

"The groundwork we feel is done," CEO Phil Rogers told Reuters, referring to restructuring changes made over the past four or five quarters.

Embracer has spent years cutting costs and selling studios after the collapse of a planned $2 billion partnership in 2023. It has since spun off board games maker Asmodee and game developer Coffee Stain, and plans to list Fellowship Entertainment separately in 2027.

Redeye analysts said in a note to investors that the quarter was stronger than expected, with both Fellowship and the business retaining the Embracer name beating their cash EBIT forecasts.

The company said the remaining Embracer business drove the improvement in the second quarter, helped by stronger releases and lower investment.

PC and console sales rose 68%, led by Gothic 1 remake, which sold 500,000 copies in its first week.

Adjusted operating profit reached 151 million crowns ($15.8 million), more than double the 69 million expected in a company-compiled consensus.

Embracer maintained its forecast for cash EBIT of at least 1 billion crowns in 2026/27, saying its confidence had increased following the first quarter.

Earnings remain weighted towards the latter part of the financial year, with games Metro 2039 and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis both scheduled for release in February 2027.

Rogers said Embracer could still meet its full-year forecast if either title was delayed, citing risk adjustments and upside elsewhere.

($1 = 9.5783 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Jesus Calero in Gdansk; Additional reporting by Vera Dvorakova; Editing by Bartosz Dabrowski)