Moshi Monsters firm hopes to branch out
THE COMPANY behind the Moshi Monsters games is sizing up expansion through new devices and brands as well as overseas after posting a 63 per cent surge in annual revenues.
Mind Candy posted revenues of £46.9m for 2012, two thirds of which was made in the UK, while pre-tax profits rose from £9.8m to £10.1m.
“2012 was a great year for Mind Candy and we’re very happy with the results,” said chief executive Michael Acton Smith yesterday.
“For 2013 our focus and challenge has been on developing new brands beyond Moshi and we’re planning to launch our first, very soon.
“The other big challenge has been managing the shift in kids’ attention away from the web and onto touchscreen devices.”
Mind Candy also pointed to “significant growth potential in the different revenue streams in non English speaking territories” in its accounts filed at Companies House.
The US is the second-biggest market for the kids’ gaming website, generating £7.9m last year, followed by Australia with £4.6m. Europe currently generates just one per cent of sales.
Moshi Monsters, which allows children to adopt a virtual pet, had 70m users by the end of 2012.
Revenues from licensing the Moshi Monsters name to related products more than doubled to £19.3m last year, though the company said it is aware there is “a risk of over exposure of the brand”.