Shares of Rekha Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies declined as much as 3.44% to hit an intraday low of ₹567.25 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, despite an increase in its net profit by 18% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹2.6 crore during the January to March period of FY23 as against ₹2.2 crore in the same period last year.
On Wednesday, the scrip opened at ₹589.25, similar to the closing price of the previous session. It surged as much as 0.2% to hit an intraday high of ₹590.25. At 10:40 am, the stock plunged 2.92% to ₹572.05. During the session, the company’s market capitalisation in early trading hours stood at ₹3,790.78 crore with 1,11,752 shares exchanging hands, higher than the two-week average of 0.27 lakh shares. At present, the gaming company's shares are trading 27.4% lower than the 52-week high of ₹789, whereas the share price of the company is trading 18.6% higher than the 52-week low of ₹481.95.
In the March quarter, the company’s revenue from operations surged 65% YoY to ₹289.3 crore as against ₹175.1 crore in the same period last year. Of this, the revenue from eSports was the highest at ₹140.1 crore. The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) surged by 86% YoY to ₹27.7 crore during the quarter under review. In the March quarter of FY22, the company’s EBITDA stood at ₹14.9 crore.
On a sequential basis, the company’s profit, however, declined 84.1% quarter-on-quarter, as against ₹16.4 crore in the December quarter. The company’s revenue from operations also plunged 8.1% QoQ as against ₹314.8 crore in the December quarter.
In FY23, the company’s profit stood at ₹28.4 crore, whereas the company’s revenue from operations stood at ₹621.7 crore.
"We are delighted to report another milestone year for Nazara Technologies. Our strong performance in FY23 with revenue surpassing INR 1,000 crores at INR 1,091.0 crores and EBITDA crossing INR 100 crores standing at INR 109.7 crores is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as our strategic investments in high-growth segments. The exceptional YoY growth across all business verticals, including gaming, eSports, and Adtech, demonstrates our commitment to provide unparalleled user experiences and drive innovation in the Indian gaming landscape," said Nitish Mittersain, Joint MD and CEO, Nazara Technologies.
The gaming firm also announced the company has increased its stake in Chennai-based Nextwave Multimedia Private Limited from 52.38% to 71.88%. Nextwave predominately focuses on developing casual & multi-player mobile games in the sports genre. It owns the IP of the most popular mobile cricket game in India – the World Cricket Championship (WCC). The company claims in the last 7 years, its platform witnessed over 100 million downloads in the sports genre.
"The said acquisition shall help the Company in strengthening its portfolio of offerings in the virtual interactive sports genre in India and other emerging markets. Further, the said acquisition is also in line with the growth objective of the Company and with a view to consolidating its shareholding in Nextwave," Nazara Technology said.