FAST NEWS: IGG’s shares surge on return to profits

The latest: Mobile game publisher IGG Inc. (0799.HK) forecast on Friday that it will report a net profit of about HK$70 million ($8.97 million) for 2023, reversing a loss of HK$500 million in 2022.

Looking up: The company’s two new games contributed over HK$1 billion in revenue, up sharply from just HK$40 million in 2022. At the same time, a 26% reduction in R&D and administrative expenses contributed to the company’s profitability.

Take Note: Part of IGG’s turnaround owed to incremental gains in investments not necessarily linked to its core operations, unlike the previous year when it recorded a significant impairment loss as some of those investment lost value.

Digging Deeper: IGG was established in Fuzhou, capital of East China’s Fujian province, as a mobile game developer and publisher in 2006, and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2009. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Growth Enterprise Market for smaller companies in 2013 and upgraded to the Main Board two years later. The company’s loss in 2022 was the first since its listing, mainly due to weak global financial markets and a regulatory clampdown on China’s internet gaming industry. The company got back on track last year with the easing of the clampdown, combined with its introduction of well-received new games

Market Reaction: IGG shares surged on Monday, closing up 14.2% at HK$3.12 by the midday break. The stock now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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