Paradox CEO Ebba Ljungerud has expressed disappointment at the publisher's quarterly financials after sales and profits took a hit. 

According to the company's interim report for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, revenues fell by 9 percent year-on-year to SEK 364.5 million ($43.9 million), while operating profit decreased by 44 percent to SEK 92.5 million ($11.1 million). 

The Swedish company said revenues for the quarter were mainly attributable to titles including Cities: Skylines, Crusader Kings III, Europa Universalis IV, Hearts of Iron IV, and Stellaris. 

Ljungerud, however, indicated that a lack of major releases has hindered the company over the past three months, and said it was also impacted by falling exchange rates. They also revealed the company chose to cancel two unnanounced projects that were being developed by external studios. 

"Since a large part of our revenue is in USD and other foreign currencies, our revenue and result are affected by changes in exchange rates. The USD / SEK exchange rate has decreased by 13 percent from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of this year, which has had a significant negative impact on the quarter's revenue," they commented.

"We are not satisfied with the quarter. Sometimes there are periods with fewer and smaller game and expansion releases -- but we can do better than this and our ambitions are higher."

Beyond that, the CEO noted that while player growth has been strong during the pandemic, Paradox has "lost some efficiency in certain areas" after being forced to implement remote working. She said the company intends to re-open its offices around the world in the "not too distant future" in a bid to regain some of that productivity.