Digital drives $1.1bn sales for Activision Blizzard
Update: Sales of digital product now accounts for 37% of revenue; profits up 53% to $335m; Black Ops sells 25m
Sales of digital product has helped Activision Blizzard to net revenues of $1.14 billion for the second quarter, up from $967 million for the same period last year.
Net profits for the three months were up 53 per cent to $335 million, from $219 million. Six month profits were $838 million off sales of $2.59 billion.
Digital sales were up 27 per cent, said the company, accounting for 37 per cent of revenues during the quarter.
"Our better-than-expected second-quarter performance was driven by record digital sales of our online-enabled franchises," commented CEO Bobby Kotick. "For the six month period, net revenues from digital channels grew more than 20 per cent, driving record operating margin and EPS growth of more than 50 per cent."
The company reiterated its focus for the near term, stating that it "plans to allocate the majority of its resources and focus toward opportunities which it expects will afford it the greatest competitive advantages and the greatest potential for best-in-class quality, high-margin digital growth, and long-term success."
Products in that portfolio include new content for the World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo franchises, as well as Blizzard's next MMO. Alongside those is continued investment in Call of Duty and the COD Elite digital platform, Bungie's new title for the publisher and toy tie-in Skylander: Spyro's Adventure.
According to Kotick, pre-orders of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 "have significantly exceeded the pre-orders for Black Ops as this time last year." The game is due on November 8, alongside digital service Call of Duty Elite.
Update: In a conference call following the earnings release, Activision Publishing's Eric Hirschberg stated that Call of Duty: Black Ops has now sold 25 million copies worldwide, and Modern Warfare 2 a total of 22 million.