- In its first annual report, esports organization Astralis Group reported net revenues of kr48.6M DKK ($7.1M USD) and a net loss of kr34.6M ($5M) for 2019.
- Astralis, which won six tournaments throughout 2019, generated 81% or kr39.2M ($5.7M) of the group’s net revenues, while Origen and Future FC accounted for 16% and 3%, respectively.
- On behalf of its teams, Astralis Group entered into several sponsorship deals during 2019, including deals with Audi, Unibet, Logitech, and Jack & Jones.
The Danish esports organization Astralis Group became the first esports organization to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in November 2019. In its first annual report, the group revealed a loss of kr34.6M ($5M) and net revenues of kr48.6M ($7.1M), which exceed the financial guidance given in the company’s IPO prospectus of kr40M ($5.8M) to kr43M ($6.3M) by kr5.6M ($816K), for the financial period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
While the Astralis Group was only established during the summer of 2019, its activities have a history that can be traced back to 2016, when Nikolaj Nyholm, co-CEO and Jakob Lund Kristensen, CCO, founded RFRSH ApS. Since its inception, RFRSH ran several esports ventures, including the teams Astralis, Origen, Heroic, and Godsent, as well as the tournament format BLAST Pro Series. Following a management buyout in August 2019, the Astralis and Origen team activities became the starting point of a new dedicated team owner focus at Astralis Group.
Astralis Group currently owns three esports teams across different esports titles – Astralis (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), Origen (League of Legends), and Future FC (FIFA).
Astralis
In 2019 Astralis (Astralis Esports ApS) generated net revenues of kr39.2M ($5.7M) or 81% of the group’s total net revenues while spending kr44.3M ($6.5M) in total operating expenses, which were affected by a higher payout of prize money to the players. In total, the team made a loss of kr5M ($728K) before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
Astralis’ competitive result of 2019 included winning a third consecutive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major and fourth Major title in total. The team won a total of six tournaments during the year.
Origen
The League of Legends team Origen generated net revenues of kr8M ($1.2M) in 2019 while spending kr21.6M ($3.2M) in total operating expenses. The team concluded the year at a loss of kr13.6M ($2M) before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
Origen’s competitive results of 2019 included a second place in the inaugural League of Legends European Championship (LEC) split.
Future FC
Astralis Group’s FIFA team was established in October 2019 and generated net revenues of kr1.4M ($204K) in the last three months of 2019, while spending kr400K ($58K) in total operating expenses. Future FC was the only team in the group to generate profits for the year at earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of kr1M ($146M).
Aside from currently having three FIFA players under contract, Future FC acts as the management company of the Juventus FC Pro Evolution Soccer team.
Sponsorships
Astralis Group, on behalf of its teams, entered into or extended several commercial partnerships with global, regional, and local brands throughout 2019, including Jack & Jones, Unibet, Secretlab, Turtle Beach, Logitech, OMEN by HP, Nocco, Synsam, and Audi.
Corona
In its earnings report, Astralis Group made a statement outlining potential risks it could be facing due to the current global outbreak of a respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has “the potential to impact sponsorship revenue if both existing or potential sponsors aren’t able to utilize their sponsorship in certain markets or if Astralis Group is unable to fulfill its obligations towards agreements.”
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