Diversified gaming and sports media company Nazara Technologies on August 12 reported a profit after tax of Rs 51.3 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, registering a 117.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) jump from Rs 23.6 crore profit in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue from operations jumped 99 percent YoY to Rs 498.8 crore for the quarter, from Rs 250 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) rose by 90.4 percent to Rs 47.4 crore for the quarter from Rs 24.9 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The growth was driven by strong performances from Nazara’s recent gaming acquisitions, including Fusebox and Curve Games, as well as existing titles like Animal Jam. It was further supported by the company’s Centers of Excellence in user acquisition and analytics, according to a company statement.
Nazara added that the core gaming business achieved a 24.4 percent EBITDA margin.
"This quarter reflects the early results of our sharpened focus on owning and scaling high-quality gaming IPs. Key titles such as Fusebox, Animal Jam, and Curve Games saw strong momentum, supported by the growing impact of our Centers of Excellence in User Acquisition and Analytics" said Nazara founder Nitish Mittersain in a statement.
"We continue to reinvest these gains into expanding our IP portfolio, increasing UA efficiency, and building a robust pipeline of titles across genres and geographies," Mittersain said.
He added that the company has strengthened its leadership team with recent appointments bringing deep expertise in gaming to fuel its next phase of expansion.
Nazara Technologies, the country's only publicly listed gaming company, has been aggressively pursuing acquisitions over the past year to strengthen its core gaming business, which Mittersain expects will become the firm's largest revenue generator in the coming years.
Last year, the company implemented a new operating model that brought the core gaming business into the parent entity. Nazara had stated this move would boost the parent firm's revenue and free cash flow, enabling investments in both organic and inorganic growth.
In July, Nazara also announced that it would give up majority control of Nodwin Gaming as part of its efforts to focus on core gaming while enabling Nodwin to independently accelerate its esports ambitions. This step is currently subject to shareholder approval.
Subsequently, Nodwin Gaming raised $10 million from existing investors, including South Korean gaming giant Krafton, digital entertainment and technology company JetSynthesys, and the company’s co-founders Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk.
"Our vision is clear: to build a globally relevant, durable gaming platform from India, capable of competing with the world’s best. Through disciplined capital allocation, strong IP ownership, and operational excellence, we are confident in delivering sustainable growth and long-term value for our shareholders," Mittersain said.
Stock split & new board additions
In addition to quarterly results, Nazara stated that it will undertake a stock split, sub-dividing each existing equity share with a face value of Rs 4 into two shares of Rs 2 each, and bonus equity shares will be issued in the ratio of 1:1, granting one Rs 2 bonus share for every Rs 2 share held.
The company said it expects this action to boost liquidity and attract more retail investors, completing it by October 10, 2025. The firm has also increased authorised share capital from Rs 50 crore to Rs 80 crore, with corresponding amendments to the company’s Memorandum of Association.
Nazara has also appointed Rohit Sharma, co-founder of Pokkt Mobile Ads, as executive director for a period of five years. Pokkt Mobile Ads was acquired by Japan’s AnyMind Group in March 2020, following which Sharma became the Global COO and a Board Member of AnyMind Group. He has over 25 years of experience in building teams and businesses in video games and digital media.
"His leadership will strengthen our IP-driven gaming strategy as we expand across genres, platforms, and markets," Mittersain said.
Rajiv Agarwal, managing director of the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s investment firm Rare Enterprises, said he is stepping down as non-executive non-independent director, citing increased professional commitments. The family of the late investor recently exited the company by selling their entire stake through open market transactions.
In January, Nazara Technologies announced that it is raising Rs 495 crore through a preferential equity issue to Axana Estates LLP, led by Plutus Wealth management founder Arpit Khandelwal and CaratLane co-founder Mithun Sacheti.
This was after the firm closed a Rs 855-crore funding round from a slew of new and existing investors including SBI Mutual Fund in November 2024.
The deal also triggered an open offer through which Axana Estates, Plutus Wealth Management, and Junomoneta Finsol (an associate firm of Plutus Wealth) are seeking to acquire an additional 26 percent stake in the company for a total consideration of Rs 2,382.35 crore.
Segment-wise performance
Nazara currently operates across a range of sectors such as mobile and PC gaming (Fusebox, Curve Games, Animal Jam, World Cricket Championship, Kiddopia, and Classic Rummy), e-sports (Sportskeeda), advertising (Datawrkz), and offline gaming (Funky Monkey, Smaaash).
The core gaming vertical saw a 160 percent year-on-year jump in revenues to Rs 240.9 crore for the quarter, driven by strong performances from recent acquisitions such as Curve Games, which generated Rs 54.6 crore, Fusebox with Rs 73 crore, and Animal Jam with Rs 26.4 crore in revenue.
Kiddopia’s revenue stood at Rs 45.4 crore for the quarter, while Nextwave Multimedia reported Rs 7.4 crore. CATS: Crash Arena and King of Thieves, the two gaming titles recently purchased from Barcelona-based game developer and publisher ZeptoLab, generated revenue of Rs 11.3 crore for the quarter.
Nazara's associate firm Moonshine Technology, the parent company of online poker platform PokerBaazi, saw its revenues grow 54 percent YoY to Rs 191.8 crore. PokerBaazi's Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) grew 46 percent YoY to Rs 434 crore in Q1-FY26, driven by strong user engagement and product enhancements.
EBITDA loss however widened to Rs 73.9 crore for the quarter, due to front-loaded marketing costs related to the IPL tournament.
Nodwin Gaming witnessed its revenue grow 49 percent to Rs 106.1 crore for the quarter, while EBITDA loss increased to Rs 11 crore. The esports firm will be reclassified as an associate firm once the de-subsidiarisation move gets shareholder approval.
Sportskeeda's revenue declined by 21 percent to Rs 48.1 crore for the quarter, although EBITDA loss improved to Rs 5.4 crore. Nazara stated that a company-wide cost optimization program has been implemented, including renegotiating variable content costs and rightsizing the team to align with current business needs.
Adtech business Datawrkz's revenue increased four-fold to Rs 106.1 crore for the quarter while EBITDA profit rose to Rs 2.6 crore.
The United States accounted for 62 percent of Nazara’s revenues in Q1-FY26, India contributed 8 percent, the United Kingdom 6 percent, and the rest of the world made up the remaining 24 percent.
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