With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.
If you like to play games on your mobile, Gameloft may be worth a test drive. I interviewed Alexandre de Rochefort, Gameloft's CFO, who said "Gameloft was founded in 2000 by the same people who started [French video game publisher] Ubisoft in the 1980s. In the beginning of 2000, the founders saw that there were only a limited number of consumers who realized that game machines and consoles were becoming more powerful. As gaming consoles became more powerful, the industry catered more towards a hardcore audience which resulted in the isolation of casual gamers. Gameloft was created to develop casual games for mass market audience."
De Rochefort continued, "In the late 1990s, the founders began to realize that they could sell games to a wider audience of people who used mobile phones. Between 2002 and 2008, Gameloft's revenues and its number of multiplayer games (MPG) available on Java and Brew-based mobile phones grew. During that time, MPG revenues climbed from €2 million to €110 million (about $139 million), and the number of different MPGs Gameloft sold rose from 100 to 4,000."
Although consumers buy Gameloft's mobile games, its biggest customer is Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). According to de Rochefort, "All our games target mass-market, casual gamers who want to download over the air or via the Web and pay a low price to do so. Our biggest distribution channel is Apple, which makes these games available to consumers via iPhone Games."
And Gameloft has an impressive market share -- lagging only "behind Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) whose EA Mobile had between $180 million and $185 million in 2008 sales," according to de Rochefort.
Even if you're not a mobile gamer, it might be worth plunking down some money in Gameloft's stock, which trades on the French exchange.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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