Why Are Nazara Tech Shares On The Up Despite Its 28% GST Struggles

Shares of Nazara Technologies rose on Monday, following a solid Q1 report and the appointment of industry veteran Christopher Franklin to head its mobile gaming subsidiary, Nextwave Multimedia.

What Happened? Franklin brings over 20 years of experience, having recently served as Game Design Director at Electronics Arts.

Former CEO and founder PR Rajendran will now become the board chairman, says Nitish Mittersain, Nazara Technologies CEO in a statement shared with MoneyControl.

Nazara Tech Q1 Performance: The gaming and sports media platform, posted a 14% rise in its Q1 FY24 revenue, reaching ₹254.4 crore, up from ₹223.1 crore in Q1 FY23.

Revenue sources in the quarter included 41% from North America, 19% from India, and the rest from other regions. The e-sports segment contributed ₹117.84 crore, or 46.32% of operating revenue. Gaming brought in 43% or ₹109.52 crore, with the remainder coming from adtech. Additional non-operating income of ₹11.74 crore brought total revenue to ₹266.17 crore.

Operational expenses for Q1 FY24 amounted to ₹237.9 crore, a 14.5% increase from Q1 FY23. The company ended the quarter with profits growing over 31% to ₹20.86 crore.

Problems at hand: The Indian government recently announced its decision to impose a 28% GST on the full face value of online gaming. Following this decision from the GST Council meeting, numerous players in the industry, including Nazara and Winzo, wrote to the government expressing their protest against the move.

Additionally, around 30 investors, such as Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, and Alpha Wave, sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for a review of the decision.

Price Action: Nazara Technologies shares were up by 4.02% at ₹693.05 on Monday.

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