Majesco posts Q3 operating loss of $4.2 million
Company's profits drop following soft performance of Night at the Museum
Majesco Entertainment has reported operating losses of USD 4.2 million for the third quarter of 2009, a loss it says was particularly impacted by the release of Night of the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian.
The loss compares to a profit of USD 0.3 million for the same quarter in 2008. Revenue for the company did show an increase however, increasing 19 per cent to USD 17.2 million compared to USD 14.5 million last year. This increase was affected partly by strong performances of the publisher's Wii and DS titles, sales of which were up 16 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
Net loss per share for the quarter ending July 31 2009 was USD 0.18, compared to net income of USD 0.02 in the same period last year.
Majesco's CEO Jesse Sutton commented, "We delivered another quarter of solid top line growth, generating revenue of USD 17.2 million, an increase of 19 per cent over last year, on the continued strength of our Cooking Mama franchise, especially the recently released Gardening Mama.
"Profitability in the quarter was impacted by a soft retail performance from our Go Play line and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. In addition, our bottom line reflects the impact of our discretionary marketing investments, specifically in support of the launch of Go Play, as well as the lower margin associated with Night at the Museum, which was an opportunistic pick up in the quarter."
Net loss for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 was USD 2.7 million, which compares to net profit of USD 3 million in the comparable 2008 period. Net revenue increased 54 per cent to USD 70.6 million.
Majesco pointed to a strong fourth quarter release schedule, which incorporates Cooking Mama 3: Shop and Chop, and Jillian Michael's Fitness Ultimatum 2010, as evidence its business is continuing to evolve positively. Following the release of its latest financials, the company increased its outlook for fiscal 2009 full year net revenue from USD 80-85 million to USD 85-90 million.