Modern Times Group (MTG) CMD 2025 summary

Strategic transformation and growth ambitions

• Announced a new operating model with two main divisions (Midcore and Casual Districts) to unlock synergies, empower studios, and double company size over the mid to long term, with a new district-based structure from January 2026.

• Plarium acquisition brings scale, proprietary tech, and best-in-class talent, enabling rollout of shared platforms and cost efficiencies, including a $20 million+ cost-saving program by end of 2026.

• Exploring a potential IPO of PlaySimple in India to unlock M&A currency and accelerate consolidation in the casual segment, with MTG intending to remain majority owner.

• Focus on evergreen games and disciplined M&A, with six key studios and over 90 live games, generating $1 billion+ in annualized revenues and entertaining 9 million daily users.

• Emphasis on organic growth, operational synergies, and leveraging shared tech and data to improve new game hit rates and fail faster.

Financial performance and guidance

• Achieved three consecutive quarters of mid to high single-digit organic growth, with Q2 2025 organic growth at 9% and H1 EBITDA margin at 23%.

• Updated 2025 guidance: organic growth of 7–9% (up from 3–7%), total reported revenue of SEK 11.4–11.7 billion, and adjusted EBITDA margin of 21–24%.

• Medium-term targets: organic growth of 3–7% (double market rate), EBITDA margin above 24%, and unlevered cash conversion above 60%.

• Strong cash generation and disciplined capital allocation, with SEK 14 billion generated since 2022, SEK 4 billion returned to shareholders, and SEK 10 billion deployed in M&A.

• Announced a new SEK 400 million share buyback program running until 15 May 2026, supported by strong cash flows from evergreen IPs.

Operational model and innovation

• Midcore District (80% of revenue) leverages shared services, unified analytics, and marketing platforms, targeting $20 million+ in cost savings and 2–4 new games in soft launch annually.

• Casual District, led by PlaySimple, focuses on operational excellence, fast-follow strategy, and platform scalability, with 60% revenue and 145% DAU growth since acquisition.

• AI adoption across art, code, marketing, and analytics is driving efficiency, faster iteration, and improved margins, with proprietary tools like Art Maker AI and agentic coding.

• Direct-to-Consumer initiatives (web stores, Plarium Play, direct payments) are reducing platform fees, increasing monetization flexibility, and enabling cross-promotion.

• New games pipeline is managed with a data-driven, fail-fast approach, balancing passion and discipline, and leveraging shared learnings and resources across studios.