Angry Birds Maker Rovio Says CEO Kati Levoranta to Quit at Year End

Levoranta, who has led Rovio since 2016, took it public markets with a 2017 listing.

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 5 October 2020 15:32 IST
Highlights
  • Rovio shares rose 1.2 percent after news of Levoranta's departure
  • Rovio issued a surprise profit warning five months after its IPO in 2017
  • Rovio attributed the improved performance to increased player engagement

CEO Kati Levoranta of Rovio presents the company's full-year results in a press conference in Espoo, 2018

Rovio Entertainment said on Monday that Chief Executive Kati Levoranta will leave the maker of the Angry Birds game series at the end of the year.

Levoranta, who has led Rovio since 2016, took it public markets with a 2017 listing. While this was an initial success, only five months later Rovio issued a surprise profit warning, angering investors and halving its share price in one day.

"The company's result and cash flow development are on a good level and its balance sheet is strong," Rovio's chairman Kim Ignatius said in a statement, thanking Levoranta for her work.

Advertisement

Although after the profit warning, Levoranta said Rovio was sticking to a long-term 30 percent operating margin, this has been between 6.3 percent and 11.2 percent in the past three years.

Advertisement

Rovio shares rose 1.2 percent after news of Levoranta's departure.

"The board of directors will begin the search process for a new CEO," the Finnish firm said.

Advertisement

Earlier in August, Rovio reported a 160 percent jump in second-quarter adjusted operating profit. “We reached record high games revenue driven by the strong performance of our key games,” Levoranta said in a statement.

Adjusted operating profit rose to EUR 13.8 million (roughly Rs. 121 crores) from EUR 5.3 million (roughly Rs. 46 crores) while revenue fell 3.6 percent to EUR 69.2 million (roughly Rs. 610 crores) due to lower movie revenue, said the Finnish company, which listed its shares in 2017.

Advertisement

The company attributed the improved performance to "increased player engagement due to COVID-19" as well as lower marketing costs.

"The overall impact of COVID-19, which was visible in a higher level of downloads, daily active users and player engagement, peaked in late April," Levoranta said.

© Thomson Reuters 2020


OnePlus 8T leaked specs look great but where is the cheaper Nord? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.

Further reading: Rovio, Angry Birds, Kati Levoranta
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. YouTube Takes on OpenAI's Sora With AI-Generated Shorts Feature
  2. Dhurandhar OTT Release Date Update: When and Where to Watch it Online?
  1. NASA Selects Three New Lunar Science Instruments for Artemis Moon Missions
  2. NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams Retires After 27 Years of Space Service
  3. Realme Neo 8 Launched With Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Chip, 8,000mAh Battery: Price, Features
  4. Apple Asks Delhi High Court to Stop Competition Commission of India From Seeking Its Financials
  5. Amazon Great Republic Day Sale: Top Last Minute Deals on Smartphones, Smart TVs and Home Appliances
  6. Amazon Great Republic Day Sale: Best Deals on Robot Vacuum Cleaners
  7. OnePlus 15T Lands on 3C Certification Database Ahead of Launch in China: Expected Specifications
  8. Crimson Desert Has Officially Gone Gold, Launch Set for March 19
  9. Acer Chromebook Spin 311, Chromebook 311 Launched With MediaTek Kompanio 540 CPU: Price, Features
  10. Samsung Galaxy S26+ Bags 3C Certification; Might Not Launch With Charging Upgrade
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.