Take-Two posts better than expected Q3 results
Profits of $40.8 million from net revenues of $334.3 million for three months ending December 31
Take-Two has posted its financial results for the quarter ending December 31, 2010, recording a net revenue of $334.3 million (£207.4m) and a profit of $40.8 million (£25.3m) for the quarter.
Whilst the revenues show a drop from the $360.4 million (£223.6m) posted for the same period a year previous, profit from continuing operations was up from $39.4 million (£24.44m) for the same period the year previous.
The main contributors to this revenue were identified as NBA 2K11, the Undead Nightmare expansion for Red Dead: Redemption and the Grand Theft Auto IV Complete Edition. Digital products were also singled out as being an important part of ongoing business, with Undead Nightmare and expansions for Borderlands and Civilization V especially highlighted.
For the longer nine month period ending December 31, net revenue increased 80 per cent year-on-year to $954.6 million (£592.2m), with the non-GAAP income for the period showing a huge increase to $108.8 million (£67.7m) from a $67.5 million (£41.9m) loss for the same period the previous year.
Profit from continuing operations for that nine month period increased to $76.2 million (£47.4m). The company expects revenues for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 to be between $1.08 billion (£672m) to $1.10 billion (£682.4m).
"Strong holiday sales enabled Take-Two to continue to deliver better-than-expected revenue and earnings in the third quarter. Our results year-to-date clearly demonstrate the Company's ability to translate its world-class creative resources and diverse portfolio of triple-A franchises into meaningful profits," said Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick.
"Looking ahead to the balance of the year and fiscal 2012, I have never been more enthusiastic about our diverse line-up of upcoming releases. From unique, ground-breaking new titles such as L.A. Noire, to the long anticipated return of Duke Nukem, the interactive entertainment industry's most irreverent hero, we will deliver a broad array of entertainment experiences that promise to delight audiences around the world.
"In addition to producing triple-A titles focused on the traditional console market, we are also actively pursuing opportunities to grow our revenues by leveraging the strength of our brands in emerging markets and across new platforms and distribution channels. These include opportunities in Asia and Latin America, evolving downloadable content models and online multiplayer experiences."
This is the first quarterly fiscal report since Take-Two decided to shift its fiscal year to end March 31, rather than its previous financial full stop of October 31 - a move designed to "align its fiscal periods more closely with the seasonality of its business and improve comparability with industry peers."
The results detailed here are part of the final report before the new system of March to March fiscal calendaring comes into force, representing the three months ending December 31, 2010.