NetEnt sacks CEO Per Eriksson amid falling profits
Supplier says recent group performance “has not been as it should” as search for Eriksson’s successor gets underway
NetEnt has parted ways with the group’s president and CEO Per Eriksson just weeks after the online casino supplier reported its Q4 financial results had lagged behind market forecasts.
The Stockholm-listed company yesterday announced Eriksson, who has been CEO since 2012, should step down from his role with immediate effect as NetEnt’s overall performance had “not been as it should.”
A successor to Eriksson has yet to be announced, but NetEnt said a recruitment process would be “initiated immediately”, with CFO Therese Hillman stepping in as CEO on an interim basis.
”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,” NetEnt’s chairman of the Board, Vigo Carlund, said.
He added: “The Board believes that NetEnt needs a new driving force to reverse the trend and increase the focus on growth.
Last month, NetEnt reported a 3.9% year-on-year drop in Q4 EBIT to SEK 150m after internal expansion and an increase in staff numbers had resulted in a 10.2% year-on-year rise in expenses.
Slower growth also contributed to the downturn, with Q4 revenues up 4.7% to SEK 419m.
However, full-year revenues for 2017 rose 11.7% to SEK 1,625m and Carlund said he was confident NetEnt was in a strong position to deliver strong future growth.
“The value creation potential in NetEnt remains significant,” he said. “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. The board would also like to extend its gratitude to Per Eriksson for his time as CEO for NetEnt.”
Eriksson originally joined NetEnt in 2012 having previously held senior positions at a number of technology companies, including Dustin, Dell and Siemens.
NetEnt’s share price was SEK 42.94 at the time of writing.