JoWooD swings into the black in preliminary 2003 results

Austrian publisher JoWooD claims to have completed the turnaround of its business, with the company posting a full-year profit of â'¬3.6 million and achieving a 30 per cent increase in revenue in its core business areas during 2003.

The positive news comes after a year which has seen the company restructure and reposition itself significantly following a massive â'¬28.6 million loss reported at the end of fiscal 2002.

Much of the turnaround into profit for the publisher is attributed to its decision to pull out of non-core business areas such as distribution in order to focus on the development and publishing of its own key software titles.

As a result of this, the basic sales figure for the company has declined significantly, from â'¬43.5 million in 2002 to â'¬23 million in 2003 - but the company maintains that its core business has grown significantly, with the development and publishing sector earning only â'¬16 million in 2002.

The company has also been successful in expanding its audience outside of its home German-speaking territories in the past year, with non German-speaking overseas markets accounting for 40 per cent of its business in 2003, compared with 27 per cent in the previous year.

"This year's results confirm the viability of our new strategy," according to company CFO Michael Pistauer. "The primary objective for the business year 2004 is to reinforce JoWooD's strategic position and increase international sales of our products. In 2004 the company will also focus on expanding its console business. We are very proud of our result for 2003. It will serve as a solid foundation for future growth."