Electronic Arts posts wider quarterly loss

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O), the world's biggest video game publisher, posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday due to a boost from hits such as its latest "Harry Potter" title.

Electronic Arts also raised its revenue forecast for the full year but failed to excite some investors, and the stock fell 1.8 percent in extended trading.

Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners, said the fall was partly due to confusion over an accounting change that means EA will book revenue from online-enabled games over several quarters instead of at the time of sale.

Net loss for EA's fiscal first quarter ended June 30 was $132 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with a loss of $81 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items such as stock-based compensation, EA said it lost $69 million, or 22 cents per share, comfortably beating the average Wall Street forecast on Reuters Estimates for a loss of 34 cents.

"They clearly overperformed in Q1. Q2 was a little weaker in terms of guidance, but importantly for fiscal 2008 they actually raised their top line," Hickey said.

"The first blush is this company is performing as expected and we continue to see upside," Hickey said.

Revenue was $395 million, down 4 percent from $413 million a year earlier but higher than the $384.9 million expected by analysts.

EA said sales were driven by its "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" game, which sold 2 million copies in one week.

For the second quarter, EA said revenue, excluding the effects of the accounting change, would be between $825 million and $910 million. Full-year revenue would be between $3.65 billion and $3.85 billion, up $50 million from its previous forecasts.

Shares in EA, whose key franchises include "Madden NFL" and "The Sims," fell 1.5 percent in extended trading after the report to $47.37. The stock has risen nearly 4 percent over the past year but has lagged shares of rivals such as Activision Inc (ATVI.O) and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (THQI.O).

(Reporting by Scott Hillis)