NetEnt CEO: “We have to realise it’s 2018 and not focus on the past”
NetEnt CEO Therese Hillman has said the supplier needs to start looking forward to improve performance.
Hillman took over as group CEO in May, having previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Acting CEO.
Previous CEO Per Eriksson left the company in March as part of a move to “increase focus on long-term growth for the company.”
NetEnt reported small increases in revenue and EBITDA for Q3, to SEK 449m ($49.4m) (+11%) and SEK 227m (+16%) respectively.
Speaking exclusively to Gambling Insider, Hillman said: “Our ambition has always been to outgrow the market, which we’re not doing right now, so we’re not happy with the current revenue growth.
“I looked at where we are, our position in the market, what the customers say about us, and I’ve been reaching out as much as I have been able to. I had a view of where we were, but some of my assumptions were wrong. It has been very useful to hear the truth.
“We have to realise it’s 2018. We need to look forward, rather than keep thinking about what we have done in the past. We have been doing lots of great things, but the competition is really tough right now. We need to look forward.”
Hillman also stressed the importance of improving NetEnt’s live casino offering and increasing the speed of production.
Hillman said: “I think the numbers speak for themselves. I’ve been focusing on what we can do differently and where we can improve.
“Coming in as CEO, it was always about the pace and how we could get more games out the drawer, as well as how we could improve live casino. I was thinking about how we could be more diverse.
“Innovation is key for growth, but we also need to have all the hygiene factors. We have focused on innovative products more, but we haven’t had unlimited capacity. With Mr Green, who we launched our Live Beyond Live product with this year, we’ve had limited capacity on the standard product, which has been hurting us somewhat, so now we’re focusing on the standard products to make sure they become stronger. That’s where we’re improving.”
Hillman was speaking to Gambling Insider for the 2019 CEO Special, which will appear in the January/February magazine.
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