Astralis Group posts “satisfactory” results in 2019 annual report

Publicly-listed Danish esports organisation Astralis Group has shared its financial results in its first annual report.

The group owns Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Astralis, League of Legends team Origen, and FIFA team Future FC.

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Anders Hørsholt, CEO of Astralis Group, who first joined the company in September 2019, also shared his own detailed review of the company’s progress in an official statement published on Astralis Group’s website.

Astralis Group has posted revenue of €6.5 million (£5.64 million), which is 11.5 percent higher than the financial guidance shared in its prospectus. But despite surpassing the predicted revenue, the company was only able to match overall expectations in an annual result of -€4.6 million (-£3.98 million), and with an EBITDA of -€3.06 million (-£2.65 million).

Hørsholt spoke on the report: “Overall the annual result is as expected and as such the result is satisfactory. We have only existed as a company since August 2019, so we should not have too many surprises in the annual report. Except for a higher revenue, mainly caused by prize money won by the Astralis team, we’ve been on point in our fairly ambitious predictions.

“I see this as a healthy sign for our business. Since launching the company in August, we have signed and extended some significant partnership deals with sponsors and media partners and on behalf of Astralis, we have entered a strong, strategic league partnership with ESL Pro League.”

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Astralis Group has maintained its projections for the financial year ending December 31st 2020. It forecasts net revenue to land in the range between €8M to €9.3M (£6.95M to £8.08M) and an EBITDA of between –€0.47M to -€0.67M (-£0.41M to -£0.58M).

Hørsholt feels that the time is right for Astralis Group to aim high: “From the get-go we have been very ambitious and the opening of 2020 confirms our strategy. We’ve continued the strong trend in partnerships with new deals and a significant extension, we’re now co-owners of ESL Pro League, and have signed with BLAST Premier for the 2020 season.

“2019 was an extremely exciting year for Astralis Group and I am extremely proud of what the organization has already achieved. We see a massive potential for further development and we will present a range of new direct to fan initiatives, media channels and strategic partnerships over the coming months.”

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Anders also confirmed two separate goals for Astralis Group’s teams in 2020: win at least one more Major with Astralis, and reach the League of Legends World Championship with Origen.

Esports Insider says: While we’re dubious of Origen’s World Championship chances, Hørsholt’s comments reflect an admirable competitive ambition that is matched by Astralis Group’s financial aims. It is somewhat concerning, however, that the company has only achieved an “expected” annual result despite an impressive number of tournament successes.

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