SCI incurs heavy price-protection charge

SCI Entertainment has announced a GBP 14 million price-protection cost that will be evident in the preliminary results to be announced in September.

The charge reflects a 10 point increase in the typical percentage of gross revenue set aside for price protection, which provides refunds to retailers in the event of downward price pressure.

SCI blamed the unexpected charge on the console transition, which it said has seen PlayStation 2 games reduced significantly in price due to anticipation of the PS3 launch.

The publisher - better known in public as Eidos - said that it still expects operating margins for the 2007 financial year to be in excess of 6 percent of revenue, and claimed that this would "compare favourably" with its competitors based on their most recent reports.

The company also revealed that Tomb Raider Anniversary had shipped approximately one million units in the four weeks to the end of the company's financial year on PS2 and PC, with Xbox 360, PSP and Wii versions - along with a July marketing push in the US - likely to contribute to more strong sales.