Sulake Raked In $70 Million In 2008, Launching New Product in 2009

By Joey Seiler On March 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Sulake announced some financial results, primarily driven by Habbo, for 2008. The company broke the 50 million Euro (74 million USD) mark last year, earning about 4.8 million Euros (7 million USD) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and a positive net result overall. That's fairly steady growth over the year, as the company previously reported €25,600,000 in revenues from the first half. Habbo is certainly a standout, but it's worth noting it's bringing in substantially more than the $45 million in revenue some venture capitalists think cap virtual worlds.

It's already been reported that Habbo grew 40% in returning visitors over 2008, though the end of the year was particularly high, showing sales up 20% in December and 11.5 million unique visitors. The virtual world boasts 121 million created avatars.

“Our success in 2008 was a realization of the hard work we have put into Habbo,” Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake Corporation. “Constant site updates, usability improvements and a refresh of avatar clothing and accessories have all contributed to boosting our user experience and numbers. More teens than ever are visiting Habbo and they are staying longer.

Sulake notes that the Habbo business model is primarily driven by selling virtual goods and currencies, though the supporting ad sales could grow in 2009 as partners look to connect with audiences. Likewise, Sulake has other products to monetize. In particular, the company notes that IRC-Galleria, a European social network acquired in Spring 2007, has continued to grow in traffic and ad revenue.

Of even more interest, Sulake says it "plans to extend its product portfolio into new platforms and target audiences with the launch of a new service later this year." No other information is currently available, but it doesn't seem like too much to speculate that it may be related to a job posted last fall for a 3D designer for a new virtual world.

We've reached out to Sulake for more information on its success in 2008 and plans for 2009 and beyond.