The company’s brand licensing division also posted significant growth, rising to €6.7 million.

EUROPE–Rovio Entertainment revenues for Q3 2017 increased 41 percent to €70.7 million, compared to €50 million in the same period last year, due to the strong performance of its Games First growth strategy as well as its successful listing on the Helsinki stock exchange.

The revenue of Rovio’s brand licensing business also saw substantial growth, rising to €6.7 million, which was primarily driven by revenues from The Angry Birds Movie. In the third quarter, Rovio also released an Iron Maiden-themed update to “Angry Birds Evolution” and partnered with the English Premier League Club Everton for a multi-year partnership that will further boost the brand’s local and global visibility.

Meanwhile, the company’s games business unit increased 40 percent to €22 million, which was boosted by the improved monetization of top games. In addition, in August, Rovio launched a new game, “Angry Birds Match,” which the company believes has “promising performance indicators and the potential to become one of Rovio’s best performing games.”

Furthermore, Rovio’s IPO in September saw the company acquire more than 11,000 new shareholders and accumulate gross proceeds of €30 million. According to the company, it will use the funds to support its growth strategy.

Rovio’s recent gains reflect its Games First strategy, which was created to shift the in-house management of its licensing to an agency model, allowing the company to focus on its core competencies of game and content development. Read more about Rovio’s growth plan here.

Finally, Rovio’s revenue increased 74 percent to €223.2 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared to €128.5 million in the year prior.

“In the third quarter of 2017, we continued to execute our Games First growth strategy. Revenue increased by 41 percent year-on-year and amounted to approximately €71 million,” says Kati Levoranta, chief executive officer, Rovio. “In line with our growth strategy, we significantly increased our investments in user acquisition, which predictably led to a decline in profitability. Rovio's successful listing on the Helsinki stock exchange at the end of September was evidence of the strong interest in our growth strategy, also in the capital markets.”