Latest news with #JasonBailey
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
East Side Games Group Reports Q1 2025 Financial Results
VANCOUVER, BC, May 13, 2025 /CNW/ - East Side Games Group (TSX: EAGR) (OTC: EAGRF) ("ESGG" or the "Company"), today announced its financial results and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. These results highlight the Company's ability to maintain profitability and healthy margins even amid seasonal and broader economic fluctuations, while positioning itself and reinvesting for meaningful growth in 2025. First Quarter 2025 Financial highlights Revenue of $18.5 million Adjusted EBITDA of $2 million DAU (Daily Active Users): 209,000. ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User): $0.99 Cash Balance of $5.4 million Share Buybacks: The company repurchased 169,700 shares in the quarter under the Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB") for a total of $83,700. Management Commentary: "Despite seasonal softness in Q1, our core live game portfolio continues to perform well and we are investing in new features designed to enhance engagement and monetization. These core titles continue to be a reliable source of revenue and positive cash flow. We are actively reinvesting this cash flow in the expansion as a company, developing the next crop of profitable games to add to the portfolio with launch dates planned in 2025. One such new title, RuPaul Match Queen is showing strong metrics in soft launch and we are excited about it's world wide launch for the second half of 2025. We're confident in our strategy to scale efficiently and return to growth with this and other new titles this year." said Jason Bailey, CEO. Corporate Highlights: ESGG's live game portfolio continues to perform well with new features designed to enhance engagement and monetization: Team-based competitive mode launched in Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money and RuPaul's Drag Race: Superstar. Season Pass added to The Office: Sometimes We Manage, resulting in a 9% increase to ARPDAU Milk Farm Idle Tycoon saw a 10% increase in ARPDAU in Q1 with new events, now being expanded to Bud Farm: Idle Tycoon. RuPaul's Drag Race: Match Queen has already become ESGG's top-performing match game, seeing over 500% growth in both active users and revenue during its soft launch. The global release is scheduled for June 2025, aligned with Pride Month, with a robust marketing campaign including localized activations and influencer partnerships. Soft Launch: Currently live in select markets, including the UK, with localized campaigns featuring UK drag queens Cheryl Hole, A'Whora, and Blu Hydrangea. Pre-Order & Pre-Registration: Available since April 24th on iOS and Google Play, accompanied by a milestone-driven community challenge, charity campaigns, and influencer marketing efforts to drive engagement. Worldwide Launch: Slated for June 2025, aligned with Pride Month, with a comprehensive strategy that includes app store features, influencer partnerships, and digital and live activations in key global regions. New Board Members: East Side Games is also adding two new independent members to its board. "We're thrilled to officially welcome Darren Xu and Rob McLay to our board," said Jason Bailey, CEO of East Side Games Group. "Their exceptional leadership, experience, and perspective will be invaluable as we continue to grow ESGG into a world-leading games company." Darren Xu brings extensive experience in capital markets and investor relations and currently serves as Managing Member of San Francisco–based investment firm Questline Capital. Rob McLay is the Founder of Azalea Fund LP, a private investment fund focused on small-cap public equities in North America. Both bring deep financial expertise and a shared passion for supporting ESGG's continued growth and success. Strategy and Outlook ESGG expects to continue to execute on its business strategy in 2025 and remains focused on profitable growth and driving shareholder value. Key areas of focus include: Profitability and Reinvestment within the Core Business Leveraging Existing IP Relationships to Market New Title Launches Diversifying Revenue Streams for our Game Portfolio Sustainable and Profitable Acquired Growth The Company remains active on the previously announced NCIB. The company believes the current price of the company's common shares do not fully reflect their inherent value. The Company believes that share repurchases at the present pricing levels are an effective allocation of our capital and provides value to our shareholders. The Company is in a strong position to actively monitor and evaluate all capital allocation priorities which may include new IP, user acquisition or the NCIB. The company will continue to balance the need for growth with the return of capital to our shareholders. Financial Statements, MD&A and Earnings Call Video ESG's Financial Statements for the quarter ended March 31st, 2025, Management's Discussion and Analysis (the "MD&A"), and earnings call video are available on the company's website under the investor relations section at Certain information provided in this news release is extracted from the consolidated financial statements (the "Financial Statements") and Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") of the Company for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, and should be read in conjunction with them. It is only in the context of the fulsome information and disclosures contained in the Financial Statements and MD&A that an investor can properly analyze this information. The Financial Statements and MD&A can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR and EDGAR. ABOUT EAST SIDE GAMES GROUP ESGG is a leader in free-to-play mobile gaming, thrilling players with unforgettable experiences that spark lifelong fandom. Fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit, we are driven by creativity, flawless execution, and a laser-focused growth strategy. We develop and publish both original and licensed IP titles, license our cutting-edge GameKit(s) platforms, and strategically acquire studios or games to expand our family. Headquartered in Vancouver with around 120 talent dense team members, we operate over a dozen titles under East Side Games ("ESG") and LDRLY (Technologies) Inc. ("LDRLY"). Together, we're crafting, launching, and publishing mobile games across our own studios and an extended Game Kit partner network—reaching players on iOS and Android worldwide. We power our success through in-app purchases ("IAP")—offering exclusive, game-enhancing virtual items—and in-game advertising. To keep growing, we focus on captivating audiences, keeping them engaged, and unlocking exciting new ways to monetize. We'll drive this momentum by launching bold new titles, enriching our current lineup, innovating discovery, expanding into fresh markets and exploring new distribution platforms. Additional information about the Company continues to be available under its legal name, East Side Games Group Inc., at Forward-looking Information Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the proposed transactions described herein. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. SOURCE East Side Games Group Inc. View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Cision Canada
13-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
East Side Games Group Reports Q1 2025 Financial Results
VANCOUVER, BC, May 13, 2025 /CNW/ - East Side Games Group (TSX: EAGR) (OTC: EAGRF) (" ESGG" or the " Company"), today announced its financial results and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. These results highlight the Company's ability to maintain profitability and healthy margins even amid seasonal and broader economic fluctuations, while positioning itself and reinvesting for meaningful growth in 2025. First Quarter 2025 Financial highlights Revenue of $18.5 million Adjusted EBITDA of $2 million DAU (Daily Active Users): 209,000. ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User): $0.99 Cash Balance of $5.4 million Share Buybacks: The company repurchased 169,700 shares in the quarter under the Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB") for a total of $83,700. Management Commentary: "Despite seasonal softness in Q1, our core live game portfolio continues to perform well and we are investing in new features designed to enhance engagement and monetization. These core titles continue to be a reliable source of revenue and positive cash flow. We are actively reinvesting this cash flow in the expansion as a company, developing the next crop of profitable games to add to the portfolio with launch dates planned in 2025. One such new title, RuPaul Match Queen is showing strong metrics in soft launch and we are excited about it's world wide launch for the second half of 2025. We're confident in our strategy to scale efficiently and return to growth with this and other new titles this year." said Jason Bailey, CEO. Corporate Highlights: ESGG's live game portfolio continues to perform well with new features designed to enhance engagement and monetization: Team-based competitive mode launched in Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money and RuPaul's Drag Race: Superstar. Season Pass added to The Office: Sometimes We Manage, resulting in a 9% increase to ARPDAU Milk Farm Idle Tycoon saw a 10% increase in ARPDAU in Q1 with new events, now being expanded to Bud Farm: Idle Tycoon. RuPaul's Drag Race: Match Queen has already become ESGG's top-performing match game, seeing over 500% growth in both active users and revenue during its soft launch. The global release is scheduled for June 2025, aligned with Pride Month, with a robust marketing campaign including localized activations and influencer partnerships. Soft Launch: Currently live in select markets, including the UK, with localized campaigns featuring UK drag queens Cheryl Hole, A'Whora, and Blu Hydrangea. Pre-Order & Pre-Registration: Available since April 24th on iOS and Google Play, accompanied by a milestone-driven community challenge, charity campaigns, and influencer marketing efforts to drive engagement. Worldwide Launch: Slated for June 2025, aligned with Pride Month, with a comprehensive strategy that includes app store features, influencer partnerships, and digital and live activations in key global regions. New Board Members: East Side Games is also adding two new independent members to its board. "We're thrilled to officially welcome Darren Xu and Rob McLay to our board," said Jason Bailey, CEO of East Side Games Group. "Their exceptional leadership, experience, and perspective will be invaluable as we continue to grow ESGG into a world-leading games company." Darren Xu brings extensive experience in capital markets and investor relations and currently serves as Managing Member of San Francisco–based investment firm Questline Capital. Rob McLay is the Founder of Azalea Fund LP, a private investment fund focused on small-cap public equities in North America. Both bring deep financial expertise and a shared passion for supporting ESGG's continued growth and success. Strategy and Outlook ESGG expects to continue to execute on its business strategy in 2025 and remains focused on profitable growth and driving shareholder value. Key areas of focus include: Profitability and Reinvestment within the Core Business Leveraging Existing IP Relationships to Market New Title Launches Diversifying Revenue Streams for our Game Portfolio Sustainable and Profitable Acquired Growth The Company remains active on the previously announced NCIB. The company believes the current price of the company's common shares do not fully reflect their inherent value. The Company believes that share repurchases at the present pricing levels are an effective allocation of our capital and provides value to our shareholders. The Company is in a strong position to actively monitor and evaluate all capital allocation priorities which may include new IP, user acquisition or the NCIB. The company will continue to balance the need for growth with the return of capital to our shareholders. Financial Statements, MD&A and Earnings Call Video ESG's Financial Statements for the quarter ended March 31 st, 2025, Management's Discussion and Analysis (the "MD&A"), and earnings call video are available on the company's website under the investor relations section at Certain information provided in this news release is extracted from the consolidated financial statements (the "Financial Statements") and Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") of the Company for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, and should be read in conjunction with them. It is only in the context of the fulsome information and disclosures contained in the Financial Statements and MD&A that an investor can properly analyze this information. The Financial Statements and MD&A can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR and EDGAR. ABOUT EAST SIDE GAMES GROUP ESGG is a leader in free-to-play mobile gaming, thrilling players with unforgettable experiences that spark lifelong fandom. Fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit, we are driven by creativity, flawless execution, and a laser-focused growth strategy. We develop and publish both original and licensed IP titles, license our cutting-edge GameKit(s) platforms, and strategically acquire studios or games to expand our family. Headquartered in Vancouver with around 120 talent dense team members, we operate over a dozen titles under East Side Games ("ESG") and LDRLY (Technologies) Inc. ("LDRLY"). Together, we're crafting, launching, and publishing mobile games across our own studios and an extended Game Kit partner network—reaching players on iOS and Android worldwide. We power our success through in-app purchases ("IAP")—offering exclusive, game-enhancing virtual items—and in-game advertising. To keep growing, we focus on captivating audiences, keeping them engaged, and unlocking exciting new ways to monetize. We'll drive this momentum by launching bold new titles, enriching our current lineup, innovating discovery, expanding into fresh markets and exploring new distribution platforms. Additional information about the Company continues to be available under its legal name, East Side Games Group Inc., at Forward-looking Information Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the proposed transactions described herein. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. SOURCE East Side Games Group Inc.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would create the illusion of new school funding. Kentucky needs the real thing.
Kentucky kids need the legislature to reinvest in public education, writes Jason Bailey, while Senate Bill 6 is an accounting change that does not help deliver that. (Getty Images) Senate Bill 6 in the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly makes the most significant change in the history of the core school funding formula created by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), known as Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK). But the change does not increase spending or inject any more money into classrooms. Instead, it simply changes how some existing expenditures are categorized, clouding the picture of how much the state is putting into public education. Under SB 6, all state payments already being made outside of SEEK for fringe benefits like health insurance and retirement benefits will be counted as part of SEEK. Of particular concern, SB 6 inappropriately adds to SEEK all the enormous catch-up pension payments for old debts incurred due to past failures of the General Assembly to fully fund teacher pensions. These catch-up payments are not a contribution to the current operation of schools, as is the purpose of SEEK. SB 6 will artificially and dramatically inflate SEEK spending — if it had been in effect in the current budget, SEEK funding would've been 59% higher — without any additional dollars going to schools. Some may use this change to continue claiming 'record funding' for education without providing more resources to the kids attending public schools, which have received eroding state investment since 2008. The SEEK formula was one of the major outcomes of the 1989 state Supreme Court ruling, known as Rose v. Council for Better Education, Inc., that declared the state's school system unconstitutional. SEEK plays a primary role in meeting the state's constitutional obligation for an adequately and equitably funded school system. SEEK guarantees a minimum amount of funding per student and establishes a formula that divides responsibility between school districts and the state, with the state providing more funds to districts with lower property wealth and thus less capacity to generate local tax revenue. The SEEK formula includes additional amounts based on the number of students in each district that cost more to educate, such as at-risk pupils, special education students and English language learners. SEEK also includes funding for student transportation. Schools receive other funding from the state outside of SEEK, including for purposes ranging from preschool to career and technical education, and from the federal government, including Title 1 funds for low-income schools and grants for school meals. But SEEK represents the single largest source of funds to help Kentucky schools carry out their basic missions in an equitable manner. SB 6 requires that the SEEK budget unit include the full state contribution for fringe benefits like medical, vision and dental insurance for current employees as well as retiree pension and health benefits. These contributions are sometimes called 'on behalf' payments. SB 6 also requires that any reports produced by the Kentucky Department of Education on SEEK payments by school district include these fringe benefit payments. A significant portion of retiree pension, medical and life insurance benefits are already included in SEEK and are based on contribution formulas prescribed in law. Those retirement contributions now in SEEK amount to $458 million this year and $468 million in 2026. The remainder of Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) contributions are included in the budget category General Government in the TRS budget unit, an appropriation totaling $847 million in 2025 and $1.037 billion in 2026. Additionally, health and life insurance for current employees is currently funded by the state through the Department of Education, but not as part of SEEK. That makes it like funding for preschool, career and technical education, technology, extended school services and other non-SEEK education expenditures. The state contribution for health and life insurance totals $944 million in 2025 and $1.078 billion in 2026. If the state had counted all these state fringe benefit payments in SEEK in the current biennium, it would've increased SEEK spending by 59%, or $1.8 billion more in 2025 and $2.1 billion more in 2026. But including them in SEEK will not increase the amount of state funding overall, just shift the category in which they are represented. The problem with including all current pension contributions as part of 'education funding,' much less as part of SEEK, is that a huge portion of those contributions now go to catch-up payments for past underfunding of pension benefits. During the years 2009 to 2016, the General Assembly did not make the full actuarially determined contributions to pension benefits (and those contributions were not made for retiree medical benefits until a 'shared responsibility plan' passed in 2010 that increased teacher, school district and state contributions to that fund). The compounding effect of not putting in those funds for pensions caused the debt to balloon. Whereas the state TRS pension plan previously had been nearly fully funded, it fell to a low of 55% funded by 2016, and unfunded liabilities grew to $14 billion. In 2017 the legislature resumed paying the full actuarially determined pension costs. The plan has slowly improved its health since then but will not be fully funded until 2047. Unfunded liability contributions, or catch-up payments, make up approximately 82% of what the state is now contributing to the Teachers Retirement System pension plan, as shown in the graph below. Normal costs — or the contributions needed annually to pay for each current teacher's future pension benefits — are barely more than what nearly every other employer contributes for Social Security, which Kentucky teachers do not receive and the state therefore does not have to pay. Resuming the payment of full costs in 2017 met a legal obligation of the state and was the right and responsible thing to do. But those extra dollars in catch-up payments should not be counted as 'education spending' because they do not go to current school districts, teachers, classrooms and kids. According to the actuary's estimates, TRS has $25.7 million in assets and will receive $5.6 billion in contributions that active teachers and their employers will contribute for their service in the future. That exceeds the $21.8 billion the state will owe for active teachers' pension benefits. But the state also owes another $26.8 billion to retired and disabled members and beneficiaries of deceased members. In other words, TRS has the resources to fund the pension benefits of active teachers but additional contributions are being made as catch-up payments for a large portion of the benefits for teachers who are no longer in the classroom. The purpose of the SEEK formula, when adequately funded, is to help ensure that the 'efficient system of common schools' promised in the constitution is possible. It is not to pay back contractual obligations that the General Assembly did not meet at the time they were incurred. Meanwhile, actual state funding for schools has been eroding since the Great Recession hit in 2008: Total SEEK funding (as defined prior to SB 6) is 26% less now than in 2008 in inflation-adjusted dollars, and average teacher pay across districts is 20% less. The funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts exceeds the levels declared unconstitutional in the 1980s. The General Assembly has provided $0 for textbooks and professional developmentevery year since 2018, and has not increased funding for preschool or extended school services since 2019. The legislature has not fully funded school transportation as required by law since 2004. Budget cuts have caused fewer school days, higher student fees, cancelled art and music programs, fewer student supports, less health services and other reductions. The state faces a growing shortage of school personnel, and fewer potential teachers are entering the teacher education pipeline. Kentucky students need the General Assembly to meaningfully reinvest in the state's public schools while also meeting its other important obligations, including paying past debts for teacher pensions not funded in the first place. SB 6 is an accounting change that does not help deliver what kids need today.
