Electronic
Arts today announced preliminary financial results for
its second quarter ended September 30, 2007.
Net revenue for the quarter was $640 million, down 18 percent as
compared with $784 million for the prior year. Beginning in fiscal
2008, EA no longer charges for its service related to certain
online-enabled packaged goods games. As a result, the Company
recognizes revenue from the sale of these games over the estimated
service period. This change resulted in a $296 million sequential net
increase in deferred net revenue as of September 30, 2007, which will
be recognized in future periods.
Sales were driven by Madden NFL 08, FIFA 08, NCAA Football 08,
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08 and MySims, each selling over one
million copies.
Gross profit for the quarter was $245 million, down 45 percent
year-over-year. Net loss for the quarter was $195 million as compared
with net income of $22 million for the prior year. Diluted loss per
share was $0.62 as compared with earnings per share of $0.07 for the
prior year.
Highlights for the period included the following:
-- Madden NFL 08 sold 4.5 million copies and was EA's best
performing title in the quarter.
-- FIFA 08 sold 2.9 million copies internationally - with sell
through at retail up double digits year-over-year.
-- MySims, a new owned intellectual property, sold over one
million copies on the Nintendo DS and Wii.
-- SKATE, a new owned intellectual property with a metacritic
rating of 85, is the highest rated new game in the popular
skate boarding genre.
-- On the Wii from Nintendo, EA had 12 percent share in North
America and an estimated 13 percent in Europe - making EA the
number one third party publisher on this system year-to-date.
-- Current generation (Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and Wii)
revenue (excluding deferral) was $399 million.
-- EA announced the acquisition of BioWare Corp. and Pandemic
Studios -- leaders in Role Playing, Action and Adventure
games.
-- Will Wright, creator of The Sims and SPORE, was the
recipient of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Fellowship - the first interactive entertainment professional
to receive this award.