SCi reports solid progress in Eidos integration

Leading British publisher SCi has announced its preliminary results for the nine months to June 30th, showing a smaller than expected loss of GBP 14 million and reporting that the integration of Eidos is proceeding successfully.

The results cover a full nine months of trading for the SCi group, which recently changed its year-end to June 30th, but only seven weeks of operation for Eidos, which was acquired by SCi in mid-May.

Market expectations for the firm's performance had been for a loss of GBP 15.1 million, but the actual figure was somewhat lower, with a loss of GBP 14 million after exceptional items recorded on turnover of GBP 15.4 million.

What's most informative about the report, however, is what it has to say about the continuing process of integrating the SCi and Eidos businesses, a merger which many expected to be difficult as SCi is a much smaller company than Eidos.

However, SCi claims that the process is going well - reiterating that it is in line to reduce costs across the group by GBP 14 million in the first full year of operation, and that it expects Eidos to return to profitability within the current financial year, which ends on June 30th, 2006.

The firm has had a fairly solid start to FY2006 - with good performances from console title Total Overdose and mobile game Championship Manager Solo, while the latest game in the Conflict series, Conflict Global Storm, shipped on time last Friday.

However, the biggest titles in the firm's arsenal are all due in the second half of the year, with many of Eidos' major intellectual properties set to re-emerge during this period, having been held back by SCi in order to ensure that they meet quality expectations.