iGaming Business – Social gaming company Zynga has announced it is to shed 15% of its workforce this year after suffering a drop in year-on-year turnover during the year ended December 31, 2013.

The firm posted revenue of $873.3 million (€645.3 million) for 2013, a significant drop on the $1.2 billion recorded in the previous year, but also announced a takeover of UK games developer NaturalMotion.

The full-year results were not helped by a disappointing fourth quarter in which the firm posted revenue of $176.4 million, which was also down on the $311.2 million achieved in the corresponding quarter in 2012.

In response to its annual performance, Zynga announced that it would implement a 15% “global workforce reduction”, which is likely to lead to 314 people losing their jobs this year.

The company said that the move would help to generate between $33 million and $35 million in pre-tax savings for 2014.

However, Don Mattrick, chief executive officer of Zynga, remains upbeat about the firm’s financial position and has predicted growth during the next 12 months.

“Over the last seven months, our teams have been working with a sense of urgency,” Mattrick said. “We finished 2013 in a strong position and expect 2014 to be a growth year.

“We believe that Q1 will be a solid foundation for that growth and we expect substantial improvements for the remainder of the year across audience, bookings and adjusted EBITDA.

“We are committed to refining our skills in the art and science of building new hit games and in 2014, we will move aggressively into new genres that align with the timeless, entertainment categories that consumers care about.

“Our market is growing as measured by device, audience and dollars and we have the privilege to compete in one of the fastest growing parts of the entertainment industry.

“We have an ambitious agenda and we are moving quickly to add capabilities that are complementary and strategic to our core growth plans.”

Zynga has already implemented one of the first steps in this strategy by acquiring NaturalMotion for $527 million in a move that will allow it to expand into the mobile games market.

NaturalMotion is responsible for popular mobile titles such as CSR Racing and Clumsy Ninja.

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