Activision announces "highest ever" third-quarter revenues
Publisher expects 84% rise in income for Q3, and raises revenue forecasts for the rest of the fiscal year.
Activision expects an 84 percent increase in net income for its fiscal third quarter, and has raised revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter.
However, the publisher expects its fourth quarter results to take a hit from legal expenses relating to its internal review of historical stock option practices, along with the decision to move PC title Enemy Territory: Quake Wars into fiscal 2008.
The publisher's preliminary third quarter results show net revenues of $822.8 million, up from $816.2m in the comparable period of fiscal 2006. Net income rose from $67.9m to $124.8m.
The company is now predicting net revenues of $1.20 billion for the nine-month period ended 31st December (compared to $1.28bn previously), and has raised its overall net revenue outlook for fiscal 2007 to $1.40bn from $1.37bn.
The company said its results had been driven by strong performances from Guitar Hero II, Call of Duty 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Tony Hawk's Project 8.
"Net revenues for Activision's third quarter of fiscal 2007 are expected to be the highest in the company's history," chairman and CEO Robert Kotick noted.
"During the quarter, we grew both the Call of Duty and Tony Hawk franchises and established two new franchises, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Guitar Hero. Strong launches for both PlayStation 3 in the U.S. and the Wii in the US and Europe, as well as continued consumer adoption of the Xbox 360 worldwide, suggests a great deal of momentum for next-generation videogame system adoption in the coming years.
"As we look toward the future, we remain excited about the improving market conditions for our industry. The combination of our product slate, the opportunities created by next-generation console systems, the increasing installed base of current-generation console hardware, continued growth in handhelds, as well as higher barriers to entry for new and existing competitors, positions us well to expand our net revenues, earnings and operating margins in the future," he concluded.