Take-Two losses down to $34m
BioShock ships over 3m units in under a month; revenues up to $163.2 million for period
Take-Two has revealed a net loss of $33.8 million in the first quarter ended January 31, an improvement over the loss of $53.8 million for the same period last year.
Net revenue was $163.2 million, up from the $149.4 million the prior year, with sales led by Borderlands, NBA 2K10, GTA IV and Episodes from Liberty City and Carnival Games.
The company also announced that Bioshock 2 has now shipped over three million units since release on February 9, NBA 2K10 over two million units, and GTA IV 15 million copies since launch.
"We are pleased to begin this fiscal year with better than expected results that reflect our ability to produce compelling titles and to enhance the potential of our franchises through downloadable content and digital offerings," commented Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Take-Two.
"We've also taken important steps to improve the efficiency of our business and align our corporate cost structure more closely with our current goals. Our updated outlook for 2010 underscores a prudent approach toward what we still believe to be a challenging year ahead. We remain committed to creating long term value, and continuing to improve upon our execution and efficiency."
The company has sold its Jack of All Games distribution business for around $44 million, and it continues to reduce headcount in corporate by 15 per cent, hoping to save $8 million in fiscal 2010.
Ben Feder, CEO of Take-Two, added, "Our first quarter performance was driven by the market dominance of NBA 2K10, successful launch of Borderlands, growth of our digital business and continued strength of our catalogue titles.
"We are building upon this success with the global launch of BioShock 2, and have a strong line up of triple-A titles from our diverse portfolio of proven brands planned for release this fiscal year. Take-Two has been strengthened through our cost savings initiatives and the sale of Jack of All Games, which allows us to focus our resources solely on our core business.
"We will continue to evaluate our cost structure for additional savings, and work to maximise the value of our intellectual property by selectively engaging in strategic opportunities in emerging markets and new platforms," he added.
The release of Red Dead Redemption has been put back to April 18 in US, three weeks after the original date, and the company also said it may delay one of the following titles: LA Noire, Max Payne 3, Civilization V and Mafia II into the next financial year.