Companies roundup: Frontier Developments slumps & Rightmove

If game company Frontier Developments (FDEV) was playing one of its own creations, like a Jurassic Park simulator, right now it would be starting again because the dinosaurs ate all the guests. “Frontier's move to diversify its game portfolio during the last five years, including through third-party publishing and new games in 'adjacent genres', has not delivered the anticipated success,” the company said. In the short-term, Frontier has cut its revenue guidance for the year from £108mn to £80m-£95mn after the first 10 days of sales of a new Warhammer game fell short of expectations, sending the shares down 20 per cent. 

The guidance of an adjusted Ebitda loss of £9mn is achievable if revenue hits the top end of the new forecast.  

The company will now focus on the ‘creative management simulation’ genre which has delivered for it in the past. Chair David Wilton has stepped down after just a year in the role, after what Frontier founder and director David Braben called a “turbulent and difficult” 12 months. AH

Rightmove upgrades on property stress

Real estate agents are pumping money into property advertising in an effort to capture the attention of those still buying, especially in the new home market. Rightmove (RMV) is reaping the benefits, and has upped its forecast of average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) growth for the full-year from £103-£105 to £112-£116. This would take it to £1,428 a month, a 9 per cent increase. 

“The majority of the growth has been driven by new home developers,” Rightmove said. Its other guidance on sales and operating profit remains. Rightmove shares were up 6 per cent on Monday morning, although it is still clawing back the losses from the selloff in October when OnTheMarket (OTMP) found a buyer. AH

Read more: Nick Train: ‘It’s so cheap that even I’m finding it hard to resist’

Epwin to start share buybacks

Shares in building products group Epwin (EPWN) jumped after the company announced plans to buy back up to 3mn shares, worth around £2.1mn at current market prices.

The company said trading in the second half of the year had been “resilient”, with full-year profit set to be in line with analysts’ expectations (currently £24mn). A strong balance sheet and decent cash generation provided “the opportunity to take advantage of current market conditions to repurchase shares at attractive levels”, it said.

Epwin’s shares jumped by 7 per cent, moving them back into positive territory over the past 12 months. MF

Molten Ventures raises £50mn and buys Forward Partners

Venture specialist Molten Ventures (GROW) completed a £50mn placing and has agreed to buy Forward Partners, a venture firm with 43 companies in its portfolio, to add to Venture’s own list for £41.4mn. The deal will bring the total number of companies in Venture’s portfolio up to 117. The idea behind the deal seems to be to broaden out the maturity of Venture’s offering, which had focused on technology ventures. Molten Ventures can count on the support of BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, which owns 70 per cent of Forward Partners. JH