NetEnt Deals with Dull Performance by Replacing CEO Per Eriksson
When the Swedish online casino games and software provider, NetEnt posed a relatively unsatisfactory performance for the last quarter of 2017, heads began to roll. The first thing that NetEnt did was politely ask its chief executive officer, Per Eriksson to step down from his role and the search is now on for a new CEO. In the meantime, the company’s chief financial officer, Therese Hillman, has been chosen to be acting CEO until a new one can be found. NetEnt said that it was looking for a new leader who could secure long-term growth for the company.
NetEnt provides games to some of the most popular online casinos frequented by South Africans, including Queen Vegas and Dream Jackpot Casino
The company posted its fourth quarter 2017 numbers in February this year and showed that it had failed to hit initial expectations, despite the fact that it had seen year on year growth across main financials last year.
In January this year, NetEnt said in a preliminary posting that it expected to see lower-than-forecast results for the fourth quarter of 2017. This was followed up by the official statement in February.
Among the disappointing numbers: A drop in operating profit by 3.9% and a drop in operating margin from 39% to 35.8% year on year.
Nevertheless, NetEnt posted an 11% increase in revenue for the 12 months to December, as well as a 9.5% operating profit increase.
Announcing the departure of Per Eriksson, NetEnt’s chairman, Vigo Carlund said: “NetEnt has developed well over many years and several parts of the business are still developing well, for example in regulated markets, but the overall performance of the Group has not been as it should.”
“The board believes that NetEnt needs a new driving force to reverse the trend and increase the focus on growth.
“The value creation potential in NetEnt remains significant. The online gaming market has structural growth driven by the migration from offline to online gaming.
“The company has a solid balance sheet and a strong brand name in its segment of the market.”
