Activision Q1 beats expectations, but forecasts are down

Publisher Activision has announced its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2004, revealing a small profit which beat analyst forecasts of a break even quarter, but forecasts for the rest of the year are down.

In the June-ended quarter, the company's revenues were $158.7 million (â'¬139.2m), down from last year's figure of $191.3 million (â'¬167.7m) in the same quarter due to a smaller line-up of titles in the reporting period this year.

The company reported a profit of $4.2 million (â'¬3.7m), a significant decline on last years profit of $20.7 million (â'¬18.2m) but still well ahead of analyst expectations for the quarter, representing as it did a 4 cents per share profit. Analysts had predicted results ranging from a 1 cent per share loss to 2 cents per share profit.

However, despite beating the estimates for this quarter, Activision - currently involved in the regulatory probe of the industry by the American Securities and Exchange Commission - has low expectations for much of the rest of the year. In the current quarter, the company expects revenues of only $100 million (â'¬87.7m) and a loss per share of 13 cents, well below market predictions of a 3 cent per share profit.

The third quarter, traditionally the strongest for game publishers, should see Activision turning over $360 million (â'¬315.8m) and making earnings per share of 58 cents, followed by revenues of $131 million (â'¬115m) and losses per share of 3 cents in the fourth quarter. This gives the company full-year revenues just shy of $750 million (â'¬658).