|
Singapore-headquartered Winking Studios (AIM/SGX: WKS) is a leading AAA game art outsourcing and development firm. A one-of-a-kind company on the SGX which listed on Catalist in 2023, Winking provides high-quality art outsourcing and game development services. |
Winking Studios -- rare Singapore play on global scale
As a rare SGX-listed company capturing business across the world, Winking works with an impressive 22 of the world's top game developers like EA, Ubisoft, and Sony.
Zeus notes Winking is a "global top four game art outsourcing company" in a US$10.9 billion market.
Its edge? Low costs from staff mostly in China and Taiwan—average employee cost is US$30.5k a year, half of US rates.
Winking recently added a London listing (LSE: WKS) to attract more investors and grow outside Asia.
Winking is 64.2% owned by Acer Group, a stake achieved through a combination of its pre-IPO stake, an investment during the 2023 IPO, and share acquisitions in 2024 and during the 2024 AIM listing.
A S$3.7 billion market cap provider of IT products and services, Acer views Winking as integral to its strategy of expanding into higher-margin services and content provision, having invested a total of S$63.4 million.
Financial Highlights: Growth from Buys, Solid Cash
Below are key 1HFY2025 financial metrics of Winking:
|
US$’m, unless stated |
1H2025 |
1H2024 |
Change (%) |
|
Revenue |
19.4 |
15.2 |
+27.3 |
|
Gross Profit |
5.9 |
4.2 |
+38.2 |
|
Gross Margin (%) |
30.2 |
27.9 |
+2.3 pp |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
2.4 |
2.1 |
+17.9 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) |
12.6 |
13.6 |
-1.0 pp |
|
EBITDA |
2.2 |
1.8 |
+18.3 |
|
Adjusted Net Profit |
1.4 |
1.1 |
+21.1 |
|
Net Profit |
0.9 |
0.9 |
+2.0 |
|
Cash & Equivalents + Bonds |
27.1 |
41.3 |
-34.4 |
|
Debt |
0 |
0 |
- |
Adjusted net profit grew 21.1% to US$1.4 million, highlighting underlying strength after one-off expenses like share-based compensation and fees related to its Nov 2024 listing on AIM.
Segment-wise,
| • Art outsourcing—82.1% of revenue. This segment grew 25.9% to US$15.9 million on orders from China, the US, and Malaysia. • Game development jumped 36.8% to US$3.4 million, driven by demand in China and Australia. • Global publishing and other services dipped 33.3% to US$0.07 million, a minor segment. |
Winking benefits from over 100 titles in "follow-up" status, where ongoing work like updating characters and props for existing games provides recurring revenue.
These repeat revenues have accounted for around 40% of Group revenue in recent years.
Cash is strong at US$27 million with no debt, and Winking is poised for more acquisitions. 
Mineloader is Winking's largest acquisition to date at US$19.8 million.Winking CEO Johnny Jan emphasized M&A as a growth engine, noting ongoing talks in the UK and Europe.
Of this amount, 90% was paid immediately upon closing the deal, with the remaining 10% due in five years.
Zeus predicts 2025 sales at US$43.5 million (+36%) and EBITDA at US$5.1 million (+7%), with better growth in 2026.
What’s Driving Growth: Mobile and New Markets
Demand for mobile game art is hot, with 42% of Winking's work there.
Asia's gaming scene is growing fast—Zeus says Asia Pacific will hit 52% of global gaming sales by 2028, mobile at 67%.
New consoles like Nintendo Switch 2 (launched in June 2025) marks the beginning on an upcycle in the console market.
This will drive a material increase in demand for high-performance content, a segment where Winking, especially post-Mineloader acquisition, has a strong console-focused skillset.
Over 50% of Group activities are expected to be console-related post-integration.
Risks: Margins, Competition, Customer Reliance
| • Watch margins— Zeus noted adjusted EBITDA margin has risen steadily from 10.3% in 2022 to 17.8% in 2023 to 18.8% in 2024. Zeus forecasted margins, including ongoing listing and marketing expenses, of 11.8% in FY25 but assume margins resume their upward trend to 13.3% FY26 as Winking gains scale organically. • Market is competitive (Winking's 1H25 profit was still modest) and fragmented, withthe top ten players accounting for only 7.1% of market revenue in 2023. • AI might automate simple art, though Winking focuses on complex stuff. More importantly, its clients prohibit AI-generated work owing to potential copyright and lack of originality issues. In addition, there is potential backlash from the gaming community against AI generated content. • Winking's top five customers collectively accounted for 52% of total revenue in FY24, meaning the loss of a major client could significantly impact financial performance. |
Management sees good times ahead, planning capacity from customer newsflow.
Overall, Winking Studios presents an interesting growth story with its strategic acquisitions, increasing focus on higher-margin Western clients, and robust pipeline of work. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Winking Studios' PowerPoint deck here.
