Activision revenue tops Wall St view
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) reported better-than-expected revenue, led by sales of the company's latest "Guitar Hero" offering, and its shares rose 2.3 percent in after-hours trading.
Activision, the world's largest video game publisher by market capitalization, also offered what analysts called a conservative forecast for the all-important holiday quarter, given the uncertain consumer climate.
"I think they're being cautious in their outlook," said Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey.
"They have likely one of the biggest releases of all time in the quarter so I think there is some confidence in that...but there's a little bit more uncertainty around the ultimate demand."
Activision is slated to release the most anticipated game of the year next week, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2."
But the video game industry as a whole is struggling. Long-awaited price cuts on game consoles have so far provided only a limited boost to software sales, Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick told Reuters in an interview.
According to data released Thursday by NPD, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain, third-quarter industry-wide video game software unit sales fell a combined 6 percent in the world's three largest markets: the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Although Kotick expressed confidence in the company's holiday lineup, he said he was "very concerned" about the consumer mood.
"The question is whether the consumer will materialize, and I think there's huge risk that the consumer won't materialize."
For the current quarter, the company forecast earnings excluding items of 43 cents a share on non-GAAP revenue of $2.22 billion.
The outlook was slightly below the analyst expectation for a profit of 44 cents a share on revenue of $2.3 billion.
Activision's full-year 2009 forecast remains unchanged.
IN-LINE PROFIT
Activision reported a third-quarter net profit of $15 million, or 1 cent a share, compared with a year-ago net loss of $108 million, or 8 cents a share.
Excluding items, Activision earned 4 cents a share, matching with the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Continued...
