SouthPeak reports $12.1 million loss for 2009
Publisher attributes losses to heavy investment in software development and IP marketing
SouthPeak Interactive has announced a net loss of USD 12.1 million (GBP 7.6 million) for the fiscal year 2009, a result that compares unfavourably to its 2008 performance when it returned profits of USD 1.5 million (GBP 940,000).
The company's net revenue was up 18 per cent however, to USD 47.4 million (GBP 29.8 million) from USD 40.2 million (GBP 25.2 million) in fiscal 2008, a result which it attributes to videogame sales that rose by over one million on last year's.
Unit sales reached 2.4 million for the year, which was an increase of 1.2 million. In particular, strong demand for My Baby on DS made it one of the best-selling titles on the platform.
"Although 2009 proved to be a challenging year, SouthPeak's overall game sales increased by over one million units compared to fiscal year 2008 as we continue to take advantage of strong consumer demand for games on portable devices," said Melanie Mroz, SouthPeak's CEO.
"In fiscal year 2009 we invested and expensed approximately USD 4 million in marketing programs creating strong brand recognition for several of our IPs, of which we expect to see increasing returns in the future."
Further expenses arose from the company's acquisition of Gamecock titles. The company had approximately USD 12.5 million (GBP 7.8 million) invested in the development of over 30 titles for consoles, PC and iPhone as of June 30 2009.
Its 2010 releases will include Section 8, Raven Squad, Fast Food Panic and Crime Scene.