Andrew Day brings forward retirement from Keywords Studios

Keywords Studios updated the market on its chief executive officer Andrew Day on Tuesday, reporting that he had decided to bring forward a longer-term retirement plan, and would thus be leaving his role as CEO and his position as a director with immediate effect.

The AIM-traded firm had announced that Day would be taking a temporary leave of absence from the business for health reasons on 15 March.

Its board said it “fully respects” Day’s wishes following his “health scare”, and was starting a full search process to appoint a successor with the required experience and expertise to lead the group.

Andrew Day would be available to the board for an initial period of six months in an advisory capacity, to support a smooth transition.

“Whilst we are sad to see Andrew go, we fully support his decision to bring his retirement plans forward and wish him a very happy retirement,” said chairman Ross Graham.

“Over the 12 years since taking over the reins from the founders in 2009, Andrew has led the building of Keywords into the 'go-to' global video games services platform it is today and it is a tribute to his leadership that he leaves the group in great shape with a strong and broad leadership team that is well equipped to both drive the company's strategy forward and enhance its operational performance.”

Looking at its trading, Keywords said it had made a “very good start” to the year following the momentum it reported in the second half of 2020, with total revenue growth of 36% for the first four months, representing 25% growth on an organic basis which excluded the impacts of currency movements and acquisitions.

That strong revenue growth, despite some continued operational constraints from Covid-19, had also supported good margin delivery.

Following the acquisitions of Tantalus Media and Climax Studios earlier in the year, the firm said it was continuing to review a “healthy pipeline” of acquisitions.

That trading momentum was expected to continue, although with growth rates moderating against stronger second half comparatives, with the board expecting that the group would deliver against market expectations for the full year.

“The group is well-placed, with a leading position in the buoyant video games market and a strong balance sheet, to continue to build upon its strong platform both organically and through selective acquisitions from a healthy pipeline of opportunities,” Ross Graham added.

Keywords said it would provide a further update on trading for the six months ending 30 June in early August.

At 0950 BST, shares in Keywords Studios were down 0.64% at 2,488p.