Activision suffers Q4 losses, lower full year profits
Activision has announced its Q4 and full fiscal year financial results, revealing a comparative year-on-year drop in profits and a loss of USD 9.2 million during a difficult fourth quarter.
Activision has announced its Q4 and full fiscal year financial results, revealing a comparative year-on-year drop in profits and a loss of USD 9.2 million during a difficult fourth quarter.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was posted at USD 188.1 million, compared to USD 203.9 million in the same quarter last year, the company citing the impact of a difficult and slow console hardware transition as the main cause of its revenue decline - a fact which has plagued almost every publisher in the industry and looks set to further impact on sales during the coming months.
Net income for the fiscal year 2006 was posted at USD 41.9 million - significantly lower than the USD 138.3 million for the previous year. In spite of this, the publisher recorded a nominal increase in net revenue for the year at USD 1.47 billion, compared to USD 1.41 billion a year ago.
The company's European publishing division increased its net revenue by 18 per cent during the fiscal year, reaching in excess of USD 400 million and increasing its market share with the addition of new territories in its distribution network.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2007, Activision is anticipating revenues of USD 145 million, with a loss of approximately USD 0.11 per share, with net revenues of USD 1.03 billion and earnings of USD 0.10 per share for the full year.
Bolstered by an increasing number of high profile licenses, including the recently announced securing of the James Bond license from MGM, Activision expects its financial outlook to increase positively throughout 2008, projecting net revenue in excess of USD 1.6 billion.
Robert Kotick, Activision chairman and CEO, commented: "We are planning for and investing in the market growth that historically follows the introduction of new console hardware. We remain focused on expanding operating margins by growing our balanced franchise portfolio, delivering compelling game experiences, increasing our international market position and improving operational efficiency worldwide."