James Lee
16:32 (BST)
20/11/2008
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GameStop sales up to $1.69 billion
GameStop has reported its financial results for the third quarter ended November 1, reporting a sales increase of 5.2 per cent.
Sales climbed to total USD 1.69 billion in the third quarter, compared to USD 1.61 billion in the prior year's quarter. Net earnings, however, peaked at USD 46.7 million, down from USD 52 million for the same period the previous year.
Diluted earnings per share were also down, coming in at USD 0.28, from USD 0.31 in the prior year's quarter. An increase in software sales of 10 per cent was reported, with the company claiming the performance was driven by Madden NFL 2009 , Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Fable 2, Wii Fit, and Guitar Hero World Tour.
"Despite the dramatic decline of the global economy and its severe impact on the entire retail industry, GameStop had a strong quarter," said Daniel DeMatteo, CEO.
"Sales have been very robust over the last several weeks, driven by strong new title releases such as Activision's Call of Duty: World at War and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, and Microsoft's Gears of War 2. We believe that video games provide real entertainment value to consumers in these trying economic times and will be sought out gift purchases for the holiday season."
R Richard Fontaine, executive chairman, added: "While we are operating through what has been the most unpredictable economic environment in my over 40 years in retail, the GameStop business model has proven to be very resilient. New game sales were strong due in part to the values generated by many of our customers trading in products while older products are being sold at value price points.
"I am pleased to say that during the quarter we negotiated the acquisition of Micromania, France's largest video game retailer. The final purchase price was reduced to approximately USD 636 million from the announced USD 700 million due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations and debt procured to fund the acquisition is projected to be paid off by the end of this fiscal year. We remain committed to using our strong cash flow to continue our global strategy for growth through future new store openings and acquisitions."
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