COMPANY ANALYSIS 14 March 2017 Summary Stillfront (SFRG.ST) List: Market Cap: Industry: CEO: Chairman: Major growth drivers ahead Stillfront’s report for the fourth quarter of 2016 was in line with our forecast. The user trends continued to rise in January, indicating a strong start during 2017. Q4’16 was the first quarter reported according to IFRS accounting standards; this will increase the comparability to peer’s and better visualize the underlying profitability of Stillfront. OMXS 30 Stillfront 120 The pipeline for 2017 looks extremely promising. We see the launch of Siege: Titan Wars, Conflict of Nations, Bytro mobile porting and the newly acquired Babil as major drivers. Stillfront’s pipe of near-term releases is the strongest in the company’s history, yet the share price is under unwarranted pressure. 488 MSEK Gaming Jörgen Larsson Per Skyttvall 100 80 60 40 20 0 14-Mar 12-Jun 10-Sep 09-Dec 09-Mar We have made some forecast adjustments, following strong KPI development of Bytro, and added Babil Games to our projections. Our estimated Fair value, in Base-case, is increased to 125 (105) SEK per share. In our view, the current share price levels indicate an attractive risk/reward situation. Redeye Rating (0 – 10 points) Management Ownership 6.0 points 7.0 points Profit outlook Profitability 4.5 points 6.0 points Financial strength 7.0 points Key Financials Revenue, MSEK Growth EBITDA 2016 95 2017E 169 2018E 249 2019E 263 90% 71% 78% 47% 6% 16 EBITDA margin 28% EBIT 3 EBIT margin Pre-tax earnings Net earnings Net margin 2015 34 36% 25 60 36% 36 109 41% 84 108 41% 78 6% 26% 21% 34% 30% 3 -1 23 19 34 23 84 60 78 47 -2% 2015 Dividend/Share EPS adj. P/E adj. EV/S EV/EBITDA 2015 55 2016 0.00 -0.27 0.0 -0.1 -0.3 2016 20% 2017E 0.00 3.45 22.9 4.1 11.5 2017E 14% 2018E 0.00 3.89 20.9 2.8 7.8 2018E 24% 2019E 81.5 6.0 488 37 Free float (%) Daily turnover (’000) 70 % 5000 18% Analysts: Kristoffer Lindström 2019E 0.00 10.09 8.1 1.7 4.0 Share information Share price (SEK) Number of shares (m) Market Cap (MSEK) Net cash (MSEK) 0.00 7.91 10.3 1.4 3.4 [email protected] Tomas Otterbeck [email protected] Important information: All information regarding limitation of liability and potential conflicts of interest can be found at the end of the report. Redeye, Mäster Samuelsgatan 42, 10tr, Box 7141, 103 87 Stockholm. Tel +46 8-545 013 30. E-post: [email protected] Stillfront Redeye Rating: Background and definitions The aim of a Redeye Rating is to help investors identify high-quality companies with attractive valuation. Company Qualities The aim of Company Qualities is to provide a well-structured and clear profile of a company’s qualities (or operating risk) – its chances of surviving and its potential for achieving long-term stable profit growth. We categorize a company’s qualities on a ten-point scale based on five valuation keys; 1 – Management, 2 – Ownership, 3 – Profit Outlook, 4 – Profitability and 5 – Financial Strength. Each valuation key is assessed based a number of quantitative and qualitative key factors that are weighted differently according to how important they are deemed to be. Each key factor is allocated a number of points based on its rating. The assessment of each valuation key is based on the total number of points for these individual factors. The rating scale ranges from 0 to +10 points. The overall rating for each valuation key is indicated by the size of the bar shown in the chart. The relative size of the bars therefore reflects the rating distribution between the different valuation keys. Management Our Management rating represents an assessment of the ability of the board of directors and management to manage the company in the best interests of the shareholders. A good board and management can make a mediocre business concept profitable, while a poor board and management can even lead a strong company into crisis. The factors used to assess a company’s management are: 1 – Execution, 2 – Capital allocation, 3 – Communication, 4 – Experience, 5 – Leadership and 6 – Integrity. Ownership Our Ownership rating represents an assessment of the ownership exercised for longer-term value creation. Owner commitment and expertise are key to a company’s stability and the board’s ability to take action. Companies with a dispersed ownership structure without a clear controlling shareholder have historically performed worse than the market index over time. The factors used to assess Ownership are: 1 – Ownership structure, 2 – Owner commitment, 3 – Institutional ownership, 4 – Abuse of power, 5 – Reputation, and 6 – Financial sustainability. Profit Outlook Our Profit Outlook rating represents an assessment of a company’s potential to achieve long-term stable profit growth. Over the long-term, the share price roughly mirrors the company’s earnings trend. A company that does not grow may be a good short-term investment, but is usually unwise in the long term. The factors used to assess Profit Outlook are: 1 – Business model, 2 – Sale potential, 3 – Market growth, 4 – Market position, and 5 – Competitiveness. Profitability Our Profitability rating represents an assessment of how effective a company has historically utilised its capital to generate profit. Companies cannot survive if they are not profitable. The assessment of how profitable a company has been is based on a number of key ratios and criteria over a period of up to the past five years: 1 – Return on total assets (ROA), 2 – Return on equity (ROE), 3 – Net profit margin, 4 – Free cash flow, and 5 – Operating profit margin or EBIT. Financial Strength Our Financial Strength rating represents an assessment of a company’s ability to pay in the short and long term. The core of a company’s financial strength is its balance sheet and cash flow. Even the greatest potential is of no benefit unless the balance sheet can cope with funding growth. The assessment of a company’s financial strength is based on a number of key ratios and criteria: 1 – Times-interest-coverage ratio, 2 – Debt-to-equity ratio, 3 – Quick ratio, 4 – Current ratio, 5 – Sales turnover, 6 – Capital needs, 7 – Cyclicality, and 8 – Forthcoming binary events. Company analysis 2 Stillfront IFRS for better comparability Stillfront Group’s report for the fourth quarter of 2016 was in line with our estimates. The user trends continued to rise in January, and we should see a compelling result during the next quarter as well. Given the pipeline of title launches during 2017 the year will be interesting, to say the least. Stillfront: Estimate vs outcome MSEK Q4'15 Q4'16A 19 5 Net sales EBITDA Adj EBITDA 25 7 Q4'16E 23 9 8 Revenue growth rate EBITDA-margin 26% Adj EBITDA margin 31% 28% Dif. 8% -27% -10% 22% 41% 34% Source: Redeye Research, Stillfront Group During the fourth quarter, the company grew net sales by 31% and produced an adjusted EBITDA margin of 34%. The newly acquired Babil Games stood for SEK 2.1m of net sales, despite being consolidated during only one month of the quarter. In December the user trends continued to rise, indicating sustained growth during the coming quarter. We want to highlight that the comparability of our estimates is not entirely perfect as our projections are based on the old accounting structure. Reporting to IFRS will increase the comparability with other gaming companies so investors can better understand the underlying development of Stillfront. In this report, we have updated our projections according to the new accounting standard. Investments and development for new releases continue at a high phase Investments and development for new releases continue at a high phase. During the fourth quarter, the investments made resulted in capitalization of SEK 9.1m. Investments are related to the titles; Siege: Titan Wars, New World Empires and Conflict of Nations. Bytro is also investing in a new type of Game engine, set to be released in Q1’18 and a new Supremacy title, likely launched in Q4’17. Continued development of new titles is crucial for a sustained growth of the Stillfront Group. Overall we find the report as solid and see great potential during the coming years as the pipeline for launches and releases have never been stronger for Stillfront. The primary driving forces of growth the coming year/years will be: Full release of Siege: Titan Wars possible during Q2’17 Company analysis 3 Stillfront Bytro mobile porting will drive users engagement and grow player base, ongoing from Q2’17 and onwards Conflict of Nations is the first release based on the Bytro engine by Dorado. The game shows promising KPIs and will most likely be launched during Q2/Q3’17 Newly acquired Babil Games holds great promise with a strong pipeline of releases during the year Release of Unravel II in late 2017 and continued development of Coldwoods in-house title, believed to be published in 2018 Major owner taking an expected exit After the quarter had ended, one of Stillfront’s majority owners sold their position in the company to a group of institutional investors. Acacia invested in Stillfront in 2013 and was by the end of 2016 the second largest owner of the company. Acacia sold 0.6 million shares, 10.8% of capital, at a price of 85 SEK per share. Per Skyttvall is the Chairman of the Board as a representative of Acacia. If the investment company’s exit will lead to a change of Chairmen is something we do not know. That Acacia took an exit is no surprise, as the investment company focuses on engagement in smaller non-public companies. Acacia invests primarily in the tech sector and with businesses that have a turnover of SEK 15-50m. We find it likely that the company needs the proceeds from the sales to conduct new investments in other ventures, which are their focus. Company analysis 4 Stillfront Bytro – KPIs on the rise Bytro: Estimate vs outcome 2015- 2016- 2016EQ4 Q4 Q4 MSEK Bytro produced both net sales and adjusted EBITDA that exceeded our forecast 16 5 Net sales EBITDA 12 3 Adj EBITDA 10 4 5 Growth EBITDA-margin Adj EBITDA margin 33% -26% 28% 41% -38% 45% 56 242 23% 3.26 53 235 23% 2.55 53 195 27% 2.14 Dif. 19% -26% 8% KPIs DAU (ks) MAU (ks) DAU/MAU ARPDAU (SEK) Source: Redeye Research, Stillfront Group Bytro produced both net sales and adjusted EBITDA that exceeded our forecast. The reported EBITDA was affected by non-recurring costs of SEK 1.5m in total, related to test campaigns and establishments of new channels. Quarter, Bytro: MAU (Ks) & DAU/MAU (%) 35% 250 30% 20% 150 15% 100 DAU/MAU (%) 25% 200 MAU (Ks) Compared to Q3’16 the user KPIs rose significantly 300 10% 50 5% 0 0% MAU (Ks) DAU/MAU (%) Source: Stillfront & Redeye Research Compared to Q3’16 the user KPIs rose significantly. On a quarter over quarter basis the total Monthly Active Users (MAU) grew by 38%. The largest increase took place within the flagship title Call of War. Supremacy 1914 also showed a significant advance and produced their highest grossing month since July 2015 in December. Due to the massive rise in users the engagement ratio (DAU/MAU) dropped to 23%, this will increase in the Company analysis 5 Stillfront coming months and will most likely be boosted by the ongoing mobile porting of Bytro’s titles. We believe that a greater accessibility through the mobile will lead to the players logging in more often and spending more money in game. Due to a weakening Swedish krona, we that the Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) would decrease, despite this a 2.55 SEK per Daily Active Users (DAU) was higher than expected. Quarter, Bytro: DAU (Ks) & ARPDAU (in SEK) 90 3,5 80 3,0 2,5 The ARPDAU was higher than expected DAU (Ks) 60 50 2,0 40 1,5 30 ARPDAU (in SEK) 70 1,0 20 0,5 10 0 0,0 DAU (Ks) ARPDAU (in SEK) Source: Stillfront & Redeye Research The new title New World Empires contributed with SEK 0.7m of revenues during the fourth quarter; this was a disappointment according to the company. KPI relating login time and gameplay look good, but the monetization is too low. The company will focus on game design to increase user spending before paid marketing starts; we have adjusted our estimates for the title slightly downwards. We want to highlight that the title cost less than SEK 2m to develop so that Bytro will get their money back in approximately six months. Not that bad for a title called a “disappointment.” Company analysis 6 Stillfront Estimates for Bytro Bytro is investing for further growth and have expanded both their workforce and technical infrastructure. These investments will lead to a slightly lower margin the coming quarters but are essential for a continued growth of the company. Detailed estimate, quarter mSEK Q1'16 Net sales PPC UAC Other OPEX EBITDA Net sales growth Q/Q Net sales growth Y/Y EBITDA margin Q2'16 Q3'16 Q4'16 16 13 10 12 50 14 16 17 19 66 -1 -6 -1 9 -1 -4 -1 7 -1 -3 -1 5 -2 -6 0 3 -4 -19 -3 24 -1 -5 -1 6 -2 -6 -1 7 -2 -6 -1 8 -2 -7 -1 10 -6 -24 -5 31 -21% -26% 22% 56% 51% 28% 24% -12% 45% 9% 22% 45% 8% 77% 48% 14% 65% 50% 54% 2016 48% Q1'17E Q2'17E Q3'17E Q4'17E 2017E 32% 47% Source: Redeye Research We find it likely with a revenue increase during Q1’17 As the User Acquisition Cost (UAC) was at a relatively high level throughout Q4’16 and the KPIs continued to rise during December, we find it likely with a revenue increase during Q1’17. We expect to see Q/Q growth of 24% with an EBITDA margin of 45% for the first quarter of 2017. We believe the mobile porting will start to have a more pronounced effect on the sales levels from Q2 and onwards. Company analysis 7 Stillfront Coldwood – In-house under development Coldwood: Estimate vs outcome Coldwood continues to receive royalties for Unravel 2015- 2016- 2016EQ4 Q4 Q4 MSEK 4 1 Net sales EBITDA Growth 30% EBITDA-margin 6 3 6 3 42% 49% 57% 50% Dif. -5% 9% Source: Redeye Research, Stillfront Group Both the reported net sales and EBITDA were almost spot-on our forecast during Q4’16. Coldwood continues to receive royalties for Unravel that was released during Q1’16. As the game now is over a year old, the sales figures continue to decline. In May EA announced that Unravel will have a sequel and that Coldwood will continue to be the developer. Just to clarify; EA owns the IP Unravel. In the Q4 report, we can read that Coldwood has started with the development of their new game, with the working title CWIP1, which probably stands for Coldwood IP Game 1. Detailed estimate, quarter mSEK Q1'16 Net sales OPEX EBITDA Net sales growth Q/Q Net sales growth Y/Y EBITDA margin Q2'16 Q3'16 Q4'16 2016 Q1'17E Q2'17E Q3'17E Q4'17E 2017E 8 8 7 6 28 5 4 4 9 21 -4 3 -3 5 -3 4 -3 3 -12 16 -2 2 -2 2 -2 1 -4 4 -12 9 4% -15% -8% 65% 61% 57% -20% -35% 50% -20% -50% 40% -10% -47% 30% 150% 44% 50% 43% 56% -25% 45% Source: Redeye Research We believe Unravel II will be released prior the Christmas rush and that Coldwood will start receiving royalties from the sales during Q4’17. The coming quarter we expect to see a gradual decline in sales, which also affects the margin levels negatively. We have high hopes for the in-house title, but only make conservative financial assumptions Long-term we expect to see a substantial increase in reported sales for Coldwood during 2018 and 2019 as the in-house title is released. We believe that the development will take somewhere between 12-18 months so that we should see a possible release in H2 2018. With the previous success of Unravel we have high hopes for Cordwood's own IP, despite that, we only make a conservative assumption regarding the financial success of the title before we have more information regarding game genre and the like. Company analysis 8 Stillfront Simutronics – Under Siege Simutronics: Estimate vs outcome MSEK Simutronics reported financial result for Q4 showed no surprises Net sales EBITDA 2016- 2016EQ4 Q4 4 1 4 1 37% 30% Dif. -15% 5% Growth EBITDA-margin Source: Redeye Research, Stillfront Group Simutronics reported financial result for Q4 showed no surprises. The stability and predictability of the income from the company’s old MUD titles are high. The primary driver of growth the coming quarter will be the full release of the mobile title Siege: Titan Wars, which are currently in softlaunch. The financial contribution from the title during Q1 was most likely minor. The dawn of Siege: Titan Wars draw ever closer. As discussed earlier the game is currently in soft launch and has been since late November. We earlier thought that a full release would take place in Q1’17 but now see Q2’17 more likely. For us the exact timing does not matter, only the success of the title. The comments’ regarding Siege in the report was relatively few, except that the KPIs development has been promising. To date, about 331k players have tested the game. Given the limited amount of marketing, this is highly compelling. One of the most important elements behind a game success is the viral effect One of the most important elements behind a game success is the viral effect, i.e. word of mouth and recommendations to friends. We believe the soft launch numbers indicates that Siege benefits from the viral factor when the marketing begins actual acquisition cost per player will be very compelling. We can guesstimate the user numbers using the following assumptions; 331k downloads, similar titles have 30-day player retention in the range of 15-20% and DAU/MAU of roughly 20%. The current DAUs of Siege is most likely in the range of 12-15k. In our forecast, we are assuming that the DAUs will reach approximately 75k by the end of 2017, which is in our view a highly conservative estimate. Company analysis 9 Stillfront Financial forecast for Simutronics Detailed estimate, quarter mSEK Q1'16 Q2'16 Q3'16 Q4'16 2016 Q1'17E Q2'17E Q3'17E Q4'17E 2017E Net sales 0 1 4 4 8 5 9 11 13 39 PPC UAC Other OPEX EBITDA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 -2 1 0 0 -2 1 0 0 -5 3 -1 0 -3 1 -2 0 -5 3 -2 0 -4 5 -3 0 -4 6 -8 0 -16 15 227% 3% 33% 92% 36% 37% 20% 32% 16% 205% 43% 21% 259% 45% Net sales growth Q/Q Net sales growth Y/Y EBITDA margin 48% 38% 360% 38% Source: Redeye Research Top titles have DAUs in the millions instead of thousands, so our forecast must be seen as highly conservative The launch of Siege will be the primary driver of growth for Simutronics during 2017. As discussed earlier we believe the game will be fully released in Q2’17. We anticipate that the title today have approximately 12-15k DAUs, we make the judgment that the DAUs will reach about 75k by the end of 2017. Top titles have DAUs in the millions instead of thousands, so our forecast must be seen as highly conservative. We will increase our user estimates following the full launch as we will gain a deeper insight of user’s statistics. Company analysis 10 Stillfront Babil – A new acquisition On the 16th of December Stillfront announced yet another low-risk acquisition, this time of Babil Games. The acquired company is a game publisher, specialized in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. Babil is a mobile game published specialized on strategy games to Arabic users. The current game portfolio of Babil consists of five games titles and the company produced revenues of roughly USD 3m with a net profit of USD 0.45m during 2016. Babil was founded in 2012 by Mohammed Fahmi, Abdullah Fahmi, and Hubertus Thonhauser, which all today constitute the management of the company. Babil is not a game developer but a publisher Babil is not a game developer but a publisher. The games are primarily sourced from Asia with long-term exclusive rights, longer than the average lifetime of a game title. All localized content is Intellectual Property (IP) of Babil. As such the company “owns” the customization of the title that is made to fit the Arabic audience. The revenues are shared with the original developers, but Babil receives the lion share of the income from the remodeled games. Game portfolio Babil has a track record of several successful highly grossing games. The primary revenue-generating titles during the year have been; Niba Harb 2, Asefat Al-Dababat, Jaish Al-Foolath and Al Admiral. The pipeline also seems compelling. The company just recently released the new title Heroes’ Adventure and we expect to see about three to four more titles to be launched during 2017. Game portfolio of Babil Games We expect to see about three to four more titles to be launched during 2017 Heroes' Adventure Source: Babil Games Price paid and finances Stillfront is paying USD 4.5m for 100% of the shares in Babil. USD 2.1m will be paid in cash and the remainder in newly issued shares. In addition, Stillfront will pay USD 0.3m if and when the accumulated gross income Company analysis 11 Stillfront Babil receives from certain game titles amounts to a certain percentage of the estimated amount. Multiples and financials Babil Games (mUSD) 2016 Price paid Sales Net profit P/S P/E 4.5 3 0.45 1.5x 10.0x Source: Stillfront Group Stillfront will also pay an additional consideration, subject to certain EBIT targets for the period 2017-2019, amounting to a total maximum of USD 12.5m, of which 50% is paid in cash and 50% in newly issued shares. The EBIT targets will most certainly be based on significant growth, so we are confident that the company does not pay any larger sums for the earnings that the Group will receive. Why Babil is a great fit for Stillfront The acquired company is a great addition to the growing Stillfront family and fits the Groups PLEX strategy very well. Babil does not develop their titles, merely makes smaller changes in layout and language, but receives a large part of the revenue they generate. As such the investment needs and title risk is extremely low; this is likely the main reason why the company got acquired by Stillfront as the Group has a distinct focus on low risk with high potential rewards. We also see the possibility of Bytro’s titles being remodelled by Babil as they are now becoming mobile compatible. We also see the possibility of Bytro’s titles being remodelled by Babil as they are now becoming mobile compatible Financial forecast for Babil During Q4’16 Babil contributed with SEK 2.1m in net sales, but was only consolidated during one month. For Q1’17 we expect to see net sales of SEK 6m with an EBITDA of SEK 2m. We believe new launches will make up for users churn of older titles and that the company will continue to grow. We will keep our estimates conservative, as the visibility of coming launches and financial history is relatively low Detailed estimate, quarter mSEK Q1'17E Q2'17E Q3'17E Q4'17E 2017E Net sales PPC UAC Other OPEX EBITDA Net sales growth Q/Q Net sales growth Y/Y EBITDA margin Q1'18E Q2'18E Q3'18E Q4'18E 2018E 6 8 9 10 32 9 9 10 11 38 0 0 -4 2 0 0 -5 3 0 0 -6 3 0 0 -6 3 0 -1 -21 11 0 0 -5 3 0 0 -6 3 0 0 -6 4 0 0 -7 4 0 -1 -24 14 25% 10% 10% -11% 6% 34% 32% 35% 35% 37% 10% 15% 37% 10% 15% 37% 34% Source: Redeye Research Company analysis 12 19% 37% Stillfront Group estimates In addition to Bytro, Coldwood, Simutronics, and Babil there is also Power Challenge and Dorado within the group and cost related to HQ. The group revenue share for these two studios are today below 5%. Dorado seems increasingly interesting as they are launching a game developed on the Bytro engine called Conflict of Nations. The game will most likely be released during Q2’17, but we only make conservative estimates regarding user growth for the title today. Power Challenge increased their profitability due to internal optimization. We have adjusted our estimates following the better cost structure Detailed estimate, quarter mSEK Q1'17E Q2'17E Q3'17E Q4'17E 2017E Net sales Other income OPEX EBITDA D&A EBIT Net sales growth Q/Q Net sales growth Y/Y *EBITDA margin *EBIT margin 32 39 43 55 8 8 8 8 -30 10 -6 4 -35 13 -6 7 -36 15 -6 9 -40 22 -7 16 21% 9% 27% 14% 14% 18% 18% 25% 25% 25% 10% 169 32 -141 60 -24 36 18% 18% Q1'18E Q2'18E Q3'18E Q4'18E 2018E 55 53 70 71 9 9 9 9 -41 23 -7 17 -40 22 -6 16 -47 31 -6 25 -47 33 -6 27 0% 69% 36% 26% -2% 36% 25% 25% 30% 62% 32% 32% 2% 30% 33% 33% 249 36 -175 109 -26 84 47% 29% 29% Source: Redeye Research *Based on revenue For Q1’17 we expect to see net sales of SEK 32m and an EBITDA of SEK 10m.The consolidation of Babil and the continued KPI rise for Bytro are the main factors that increase the top-line level. For 2017 we expect a healthy growth driven by the Babil acquisition, the launch of Siege: Titan Wars, the release of Unravel II and mobile porting of Bytros titles. Company analysis 13 Stillfront Valuation Base Case scenario DCF-valuation The required rate of return used in the DCF-valuation is 12.2% which is derived using Redeye's rating model. We believe Stillfront will continue to deliver significant growth as the company focus on bringing low-risk titles to the market. We also expect continued underlying growth in the gaming market and that an increased mobile focus is a tremendous opportunity for the company. In the near-term, we believe the revenue uptake will be driven by Simutronics Siege: Titan Wars, Babil Games and the mobile porting of Bytro’s game titles. Estimated fair value of 125 SEK per share We estimate the long-term average growth to be 24% during 2016-2025. We believe that the margin will continue to expand during our forecast period with an average EBIT-margin of 30%. In the terminal period, we assume a growth rate of 4% and an EBIT-margin of 28%, equivalent to an exit EV/EBIT multiple of around 9x. Compared to peers this exit multiple should be considered as relatively conservative. We have made some forecast adjustments, following strong KPI development of Bytro, and added Babil Games to our projections. Our estimated Fair value, in Base-case, is increased to 125 (105) SEK per share. In our view, the current share price levels indicate an attractive risk/reward situation. Stillfront: Base-case Assumptions CAGR Sales EBIT margin (avg) ROIC (avg) We see a substantial upside potential from current share price levels 2016-25 24% 30% 23% Terminal Terminal growth FCF Terminal EBIT margin Exit EV/EBIT multiple 4.0% 28% 9x DCF-value WACC Net presenst value FCF Net present value of Terminal EV Net debt Value assos. Companies Value minorities DCF-value Estimated Fair value Todays share price Potential/Risk Source: Redeye Research Company analysis 14 12.2% 338 399 737 73 0 -61 749 125 81.0 55% Stillfront Relative valuation We have divided our peer-valuation into three peer groups: Swedish, Mobile/Casual, and International Gaming to better display valuation differences between sub-segments in the gaming industry. Swedish Gaming: Despite the size of these companies the analyst coverage is low. No projections are available for Paradox and for THQ we have used our internal estimates. Overall, the companies within this peer group are expected to deliver healthy profit growth in the coming years. Stillfront should be comparable to this group given their size and the expected future development of key drivers such as sales growth and EBITDA margin. Valuation is mostly effected by growth potential, margins, return on capital and investors risk preferences Mobile/Casual: Companies with a distinct focus on mobile and casual gaming. Com2us valuation levels, due to a large cash pile, distort the average to some degree. Stillfront is expected to grow at a higher rate with better profitability than the peer group. International Gaming: The companies in this peer -group are the “whales” of the gaming industry. Most of these enterprises act both as publisher, developers and platform owners. Most of them are also active in all sub-segments of the industry (cross platform in all genres). Due to their size, the direct comparability with Stillfront is relatively low but even so indicates overall valuation, profitability and growth levels for the industry as a whole. Peer valuation EV/Sales EV (MSEK) Company SALES CAGR EV/EBIT EBIT margin 2017E 2018E 2017E 2018E 2019E 16-19E 2017E 2018E 2019E 746 867 714 452 n.m. 3.2x 4.8x 2.6x n.m. 3.3x 3.8x 2.3x n.m. 11.3x 19.2x 30.9x n.m. 27.0x 14.5x 27.4x n.m. 266.7x 12.8x 25.9x n.m. n.m. 41% 7% n.m. n.m. 25% 8% n.m. n.m. 26% 9% n.m. n.m. 25% 9% Median 3 290 3.2x 3.3x 19x 27x 26x 24% 17% 17% 17% Mobile/casual Zynga Com2us G5 Entertainment GLU 14 031 6 220 1 452 1 368 1.9x 1.4x 2.6x 0.7x 1.8x 1.3x 2.3x 0.6x 48.3x 3.6x n.m. n.m. 30.0x 3.3x n.m. n.m. 43.1x 3.1x n.m. n.m. 11% 13% 7% 12% 4% 39% 8% -11% 6% 40% 9% -4% 4% 36% 9% 1% Median 3 836 1.7x 1.5x 26x 17x 23x 12% 6% 7% 6% International Gaming Tencent Activision EA Nintendo Bandai Namco Take-Two Ubisoft CD projekt 2 324 468 345 568 219 025 201 783 46 948 43 680 39 000 13 917 11.7x 6.0x 4.9x 5.4x 1.0x 2.6x 2.7x 12.9x 8.7x 5.5x 4.6x 3.4x 1.0x 2.2x 2.4x 16.0x 32.9x 18.1x 16.1x 108.0x 9.8x 17.1x 19.8x 24.5x 25.7x 15.2x 14.8x 25.5x 8.8x 10.8x 15.1x 41.6x 20.3x 13.4x 12.8x 17.1x 8.1x 10.7x 11.7x 16.0x 35% 6% 10% 26% 8% 15% 13% 1% 35% 33% 30% 5% 10% 15% 14% 53% 34% 36% 31% 13% 11% 20% 16% 38% 34% 38% 35% 17% 11% 22% 18% 47% Median 124 366 5.1x 4.0x 19x 15x 13x 11% 23% 26% 28% 3 836 3.2x 3.3x 19x 17x 23x 12% 17% 17% 17% 465 2.7x 1.9x 13x 6x 6x 40% 21% 34% 30% Swedish Gaming Paradox Interactive Starbreeze THQ Nordic G5 Entertainment 5 3 2 1 Peer Group median Stillfront Source: Bloomberg & Redeye Research Company analysis 15 Stillfront As can be seen in the peer table, Stillfront trades at significantly lower multiples than the peer groups. We believe the discrepancy is due to the following reasons: We believe the valuation of Stillfront will increase to better reflect their underlying fundamental performance Lack of understanding of underlying profitability Why; Differences in accounting practices Lack of attention in the investment community Why; Short history as a publically traded company and small size Lack of understanding of potential in new launches; Siege: Titan Wars, the in-house title from Coldwood and mobile porting for Bytro’s games Why; Many game developers don’t deliver on expectations and “seeing is believing”. The last point in the summary above is understandable in our view. The industry is full of game developers who don’t deliver on expectations. However, as discussed earlier, we find that the market doesn’t give enough value to the latest acquisition of Simutronics and their potential blockbuster Siege: Titan Wars. The market also shows little understanding of the potential for Bytro’s titles when they are mobile compatible. We also believe that the potential in the in-house title at Coldwood is not reflected in today’s share price. This valuation gap will eventually close when and if Stillfront starts to deliver actual figures in line with our expectations. Company analysis 16 Stillfront Sensitivity analysis As can be seen in the table below, the valuation is sensitive to changes in the WACC and the assumed sales growth. An increase in sales growth during 2015-25 has a significant impact on valuation. Eg, an increase in CAGR to 31% would imply a fair value of roughly 183 SEK per share. WACC Fair value per share CAGR 2015-25 17% 125 ### 10% 115 11% 100 12% 88 13% 79 14% 72 21% -5% 139 119 105 93 84 24% 0% 170 144 125 110 98 27% +5% 208 176 151 132 117 31% +10% 257 215 183 159 140 Source: Redeye Research Changes in assumptions of WACC have a material impact on the valuation. An assumption of 10% WACC would imply a fair value of 170 SEK per share. WACC Fair value per share EBIT margin avg (2016-2025) 13% 125 ### 10% 123 11% 99 12% 81 13% 68 14% 57 21% -10% 147 122 104 89 78 30% 0% 170 144 125 110 98 39% +10% 192 166 146 131 118 48% +20% 215 188 167 151 138 Source: Redeye Research The valuation is also sensitive to changes in sustained profitability. Increasing our margin assumptions by ten percentage points would render a fair value of nearly SEK 146. Price implied expectations The sensitivity analysis can also be used to assess implied expectations in the share price. We find that a sustained margin of around 19% and CAGR of 20% are factored into current levels. We consider this conservative especially the profitability, given the prospects of Stillfront’s pipeline of new titles and the mobile porting of Bytro’s game portfolio. CAGR 15-25 Fair value per share EBIT margin avg (2016-2025) 17% 21% 24% 27% 31% 13% # ### 50 64 81 104 133 21% -10% 69 84 104 128 158 Source: Redeye Research Company analysis 17 30% 0% 88 105 125 151 183 39% +10% 107 124 146 174 208 48% +20% 125 144 167 196 232 Stillfront Bull and Bear-case Scenarios Bull-case Our Bull-case indicates an estimated fair value of 220 SEK per share In our Bull-case, we assume a larger success for Simutronics title Siege: Titan Wars. We also model that the company launches new successful mobile games, within the franchise, in the coming years. In this scenario, we predict the long-term average growth to be 32% during 2016-2025. We also model an average EBIT-margin of 33%. Our Bull-case differs from our Base scenario mostly on the assumed growth rates. Our Bull-case indicates an estimated fair value of 220 SEK per share. Stillfront: Bull-case Assumptions CAGR Sales EBIT margin (avg) ROIC (avg) Terminal Terminal growth FCF Terminal EBIT margin Exit EV/EBIT multiple 2016-25 32% 33% 28% 4.0% 29% 9x DCF-value WACC Net presenst value FCF Net present value of Terminal EV Net debt Value assos. Companies Value minorities DCF-value Estimated Fair value Todays share price Potential/Risk 12.2% 505 796 1 301 73 0 -56 1 318 220 81.0 172% Source: Redeye Research Bear-case Our Bear-case indicates an estimated fair value of 56 SEK per share Our Bear-case assumes a low pick-up in users from the mobile porting of Bytro’s games and a limited success for Siege: Titan Wars. In this scenario, we predict long-term average growth to be 19% during 2016-2025. We model an average EBIT -margin of 22%. Our Bear-case assumes a lower margin than our other scenarios as the lack of growth gives rise to lower operational scalability. Our Bear-case indicates an estimated fair value of 56 SEK per share. However, given that our assumptions in the Bear-case must be seen as highly conservative, we see a low risk given today’s valuation levels. Stillfront: Bear-case Assumptions CAGR Sales EBIT margin (avg) ROIC (avg) Terminal Terminal growth FCF Terminal EBIT margin Exit EV/EBIT multiple 2016-25 17% 22% 18% 4.0% 18% 9x DCF-value WACC Net presenst value FCF Net present value of Terminal EV Net debt Value assos. Companies Value minorities DCF-value Estimated Fair value Todays share price Potential/Risk Source: Redeye Research Company analysis 18 12.2% 183 146 329 73 0 -69 333 56 81.0 -31% Stillfront Fair value range Our fair value range stretches from 56-220 SEK per share with a Base-case valuation of 125 SEK per share. We find Stillfront conservatively valued and consider the company as an attractive risk-reward from an investment perspective. The company has a distinct focus on controlling their risk but with no reduced possibility to produce a blockbuster title. In the near-term, we see great potential for Simutronics game Siege: Titan Wars that actually could be a huge success. Stillfront: Fair value range 0 50 0 Bear-case: 50 56 100 Last price 80 Base-case: 125 100 150 200 250 150 Bull-case: 220 250 200 As can be seen in the figure above, we consider the current valuation too low both, compared to peers and the projected fundamental performance, and see an attractive risk/reward situation. Triggers and risks A major trigger for a increased valuation would be if Siege: Titan Wars becomes a success. We will have more visibility on this in during Q2/q3 2017. Other potential triggers lies in the potential for Bytro’s titles when they are mobile compatible and the launch of the in-house title at Coldwood and further releases from the newly acquired Babil Games Another potential trigger for the share price is when Stillfront makes additional acquisitions. Finally, as Stillfront grows in size and the market cap increases, this will enable larger institutional investors to add Stillfront to their portfolios. New launches creates potential but also risks The risks lies in the success of the new launches. Stillfront has stable underlying revenue generation from existing titles but in order for the share price to appreciate significantly they have to deliver on at least some of these title launches. However, as we mentioned above, we believe the current share price doesn’t price in successful launches and the downside risk is therefore limited. Company analysis 19 Stillfront Summary Redeye Rating The rating consists of five valuation keys, each constituting an overall assessment of several factors that are rated on a scale of 0 to 2 points. The maximum score for a valuation key is 10 points. Rating changes in the report No changes in Rating. Management 7.0p The current leadership has delivered in term of both growth and profitability. Their history in the company is, however, short. The allocation of capital has through acquisitions improved competitive advantage for Stillfront Group. The company is picky in their evaluation process minimizing risk for their shareholders. Ownership 6.0p The CEO Jörgen Larsson have significant holdings in the company. Management controls 24 percent of the capital which implies a shareholder friendly environment. The institutional ownership is good for a small cap company listed on First North with Swedbank Robur Ny Teknik controlling 8 percent of the company. We would like to see increased holding from the board of directors. Profit outlook 4.5p Stillfront’s products have high gross margins and a relatively stable customer base with good leverage in the business model. The underlying growth in the gaming industry is a key driver for continued future growth for the company, where a successful shift towards the mobile segment is essential. We think Stillfront have good potential for both organic growth and growth fueled by acquisitions the next coming years. Stillfront is, however, a small player in a competitive landscape dominated by a few with no decisive competitive advantages Profitability 6.0p Stillfront’s relative small investments have gained high returns of investments. The company has positive cash flows and high net margins on their products. The company’s rating is punished due to the brief history. Financial strength 7.0p Stillfront has a strong cash position a major equity issue which was made at the same time as the IPO in December 2015. Stillfront’s products are somewhat differentiated and are not affected by a higher extent of the business climate in the world. Company analysis 20 Stillfront Income statement Net sales Total operating costs EBITDA Depreciation Amortization Impairment charges EBIT Share in profits Net financial items Exchange rate dif. Pre-tax profit Tax Net earnings Balance Assets Current assets Cash in banks Receivables Inventories Other current assets Current assets Fixed assets Tangible assets Associated comp. Investments Goodwill Cap. exp. for dev. O intangible rights O non-current assets Total fixed assets Deferred tax assets Total (assets) 2015 55 -40 16 2016 95 -61 34 2017E 169 -109 60 2018E 249 -146 109 2019E 263 -155 108 0 -13 0 3 0 -10 0 25 0 -24 0 36 0 -18 0 84 0 -30 0 78 0 0 0 3 0 -1 0 23 0 -2 0 34 0 0 0 84 0 0 0 78 -2 -1 -2 19 -8 23 -18 60 -20 47 2015 2016 2017E 2018E 2019E 4 3 0 0 7 73 9 0 0 82 81 20 0 0 101 117 32 0 0 149 0 0 5 23 0 15 0 43 1 0 0 0 23 0 15 0 38 1 0 0 0 23 0 46 0 69 1 50 122 172 Assumptions 2017-2023 (%) Average sales growth 15.7 % EBIT margin 30.7 % Fair value e. per share, SEK Share price, SEK 125 81.5 2015 -4% 8% 7% 28% 6% -2% 2016 30% 35% 63% 36% 26% 20% 2017E 22% 31% 101% 36% 21% 14% 2018E 41% 51% 124% 41% 34% 24% 2019E 23% 36% 75% 41% 30% 18% 158 37 0 0 195 Data per share EPS EPS adj Dividend Net debt Total shares 2015 -0.27 -0.27 0.00 -0.84 5.09 2016 3.45 3.45 0.00 -13.10 5.59 2017E 3.89 3.89 0.00 -13.54 5.98 2018E 10.09 10.09 0.00 -19.49 5.98 2019E 7.91 7.91 0.00 -26.42 5.98 1 0 0 23 0 75 0 98 1 1 0 0 23 0 79 0 102 1 Valuation EV P/E P/E diluted P/Sales EV/Sales EV/EBITDA EV/EBIT P/BV 2015 -4.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.3 -1.4 0.0 2016 393.1 22.9 22.9 4.7 4.1 11.5 15.9 4.6 2017E 468.2 20.9 20.9 2.9 2.8 7.8 13.0 4.1 2018E 411.9 8.1 8.1 2.0 1.7 4.0 4.9 2.7 2019E 361.9 10.3 10.3 1.9 1.4 3.4 4.6 2.2 248 298 Share performance 1 month 3 month 12 month Since start of the year 0 7 0 7 0 1 0 8 3 0 35 4 39 0 16 0 16 0 0 0 17 4 0 96 5 101 0 34 0 34 0 0 0 34 4 0 119 15 134 0 50 0 50 0 0 0 50 4 0 179 15 194 0 53 0 53 0 0 0 53 4 0 227 15 242 Total liab & SE 50 122 172 248 298 2015 55 -40 -13 3 -1 2 13 15 2 -17 2016 95 -61 -10 25 -3 22 10 32 3 -5 2017E 169 -109 -24 36 -8 28 24 52 6 -55 2018E 249 -146 -18 84 -18 65 18 84 4 -47 2019E 263 -155 -30 78 -20 58 30 88 -2 -34 0 30 3 41 52 Capital structure Equity ratio Debt/equity ratio Net debt Capital employed Capital turnover rate 2015 78% 0% -4 35 1.1 2016 83% 0% -73 28 0.8 2017E 78% 0% -81 53 1.0 2018E 78% 0% -117 78 1.0 2019E 81% 0% -158 83 0.9 Growth Sales growth EPS growth (adj) 2015 90% -92% 2016 71% -1,379% 2017E 78% 13% 2018E 47% 159% 2019E 6% -22% Free cash flow Cash flow, MSEK 12.2 % Profitability ROE ROCE ROIC EBITDA margin EBIT margin Net margin Liabilities Current liabilities Short-term debt Accounts payable O current liabilities Current liabilities Long-term debt O long-term liabilities Convertibles Total Liabilities Deferred tax liab Provisions Shareholders' equity Minority interest (BS) Minority & equity Free cash flow Net sales Total operating costs Depreciations total EBIT Taxes on EBIT NOPLAT Depreciation Gross cash flow Change in WC Gross CAPEX DCF valuation WACC (%) -6.1 8.7 43.6 3.2 % % % % Shareholder structure % FKL Holding Gmbh (Bytro management) Acacia Asset Management Swedbank Robur Ny Teknik Fyrmax Limited Nordea Liv & Pension Christoffer Lundström Nordnet Pensionsförsäkring Niclas Eriksson Avanza Pension Strömberg Förvaltning AB Share information Reuters code List Share price Total shares, million Market Cap, MSEK Management & board CEO CFO IR Chairman Growth/year Net sales Operating profit adj EPS, just Equity Capital 16.0 % 10.1 % 7.5 % 4.1 % 3.2 % 2.9 % 2.8 % 2.3 % 2.0 % 1.7 % 15/17e 74.8 % 240.1 % � 85.0 % Votes 17.2 % 10.8 % 8.1 % 4.4 % 3.4 % 3.1 % 3.0 % 2.4 % 2.1 % 1.8 % SFRG.ST 81.5 6.0 487.7 Jörgen Larsson Sten Wranne Per Skyttvall Financial information Analysts Kristoffer Lindström [email protected] Tomas Otterbeck [email protected] Company analysis 21 Redeye AB Mäster Samuelsgatan 42, 10tr 111 57 Stockholm Stillfront Revenue & Growth (%) EBIT (adjusted) & Margin (%) 300 800000.0% 700000.0% 600000.0% 500000.0% 400000.0% 300000.0% 200000.0% 100000.0% 0.0% -100000.0% 250 200 150 100 50 0 2014 2015 2016 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 -10 2017E 2018E 2019E Net sales 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% -10.0% 2014 2015 2016 2017E EBIT adj 2018E 2019E -20.0% EBIT margin Equity & debt-equity ratio (%) 12 12 10 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 2 2 0 -2 30.0% Net sales growth Earnings per share 0 2014 40.0% 2015 2016 2017E 2018E 2019E -4 -2 -4 EPS, unadjusted 0.84 0.83 0.82 0.81 0.8 0.79 0.78 0.77 0.76 0.75 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% -0.1% 2014 2015 EPS, adjusted 2016 Equity ratio 2017E 2018E 2019E Debt-equity ratio Sales division Geographical areas Conflict ofinterests Company description Kristoffer Linström owns shares in the company Stillfront: Yes Tomas Otterbeck owns shares in the company Stillfront : Yes Stillfront is an independent creator, publisher and distributor of digital games – with a vision to become one of the leading indie game creators and publishers. Stillfront operates through five nearautonomous subsidiaries: Bytro Labs in Germany, Coldwood Interactive in Sweden, Power Challenge in the UK and Sweden, Dorado Online Games in Malta, and Simutrionics in the United States. The Group’s games are distributed globally, however main markets include Sweden, Germany, the United States and South America Redeye performs/have performed services for the Company and receives/have received compensation from the Company in connection with this. Company analysis 22 Stillfront DISCLAIMER Important information Redeye AB ("Redeye" or "the Company") is a specialist financial advisory boutique that focuses on small and mid-cap growth companies in the Nordic region. We focus on the technology and life science sectors. We provide services within Corporate Broking, Corporate Finance, equity research and investor relations. 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Recommendation structure Redeye does not issue any investment recommendations for fundamental analysis. However, Redeye has developed a proprietary analysis and rating model, Redeye Rating, in which each company is analyzed and evaluated. This analysis aims to provide an independent assessment of the company in question, its opportunities, risks, etc. The purpose is to provide an objective and professional set of data for owners and investors to use in their decisionmaking. Redeye Rating (2017-03-14) Rating Management Ownership 40 74 11 125 42 64 20 126 7,5p - 10,0p 3,5p - 7,0p 0,0p - 3,0p Company N Profit outlook 18 97 11 126 Profitability 10 34 82 126 Financial Strength 21 43 62 126 Duplication and distribution This document may not be duplicated, reproduced or copied for purposes other than personal use. 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