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Report: U.S. Game Industry Sees Kink in Armor; Sales Down 17%

Authored by Ned Sherman on April 17, 2009 - 7:03am.

Port Washington, N.Y. - In a sign that the bullish video game industry is not immune to the economic downturn, U.S. sales were down 17% in March, to $1.43 billion, according to market research firm NPD Group. Game hardware sales were down 18%, while software sales fell 17% and accessories 15%. "While it might be tempting to jump to the conclusion that the sky is starting to fall on the video games industry given this months results, it's important to remember that two very big things are different this year than last," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

tags: Games | Profits | NPD Group |

DVD Plunge May Force Studio Write Downs

Authored by Jay Baage on January 30, 2009 - 11:49am.
Los Angeles – Recent data showing a plunge in DVD shipments threaten to reduce profit for studio owners Time Warner Inc.,Walt Disney Co.,Viacom Inc. and News Corp., and may force them to write down the value of movies, said analysts Bloomberg has spoken to.
tags: Movies | Disney | DVD | Warner Home Video | Earnings | Film | Profits |

Yahoo's Revenue Soars 47% in Quarter; Profits Beat Estimates

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2005 - 10:17am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Buoyed by the success of its fee-based services and an increase in online advertising, Yahoo on Tuesday reported a 47% jump in quarterly revenue, though net income remained about the same as a year ago, when the company was helped by a large investment gain. The company reported a profit of $253.8 million, compared with $253.3 million a year ago, when it realized a $129 million gain on the sale of Google shares. Earnings per share of $0.17 topped analysts' estimates by $0.03, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. The big story, however, was the company revenue, which rose from $906.7 million to $1.33 billion. The news helped send the company's stock up nearly 1% in after-hours trading.
tags: Yahoo | Revenue Soars | Quarter | Profits |

Strong Game Sales Boost Electronic Arts' Revenue, Profits

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 23, 2004 - 4:42am.
Redwood City, Calif. -- After selling more than 1 million copies each of its games involving Harry Potter, professional boxing and European soccer, video game developer Electronic Arts on Thursday reported substantial increases in quarterly revenue and profits from a year ago. The company posted net income of $24 million, up 32%, on revenue of $432 million, up 22%. Earnings per share of $0.08 eclipsed consensus analyst estimates of $0.05, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. EA said that it got a large boost with" Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "EA Sports Fight Night 2004" and "UEFA Euro 2004" each reaching platinum status. The trend seems to be continuing, with sales of the company's NCAA Football title tracking over 50% ahead of last year after its first week, and pre-orders of EA's Madden NFL game at record levels. However, the company's shares fell nearly 8% on Friday after posting a conservative outlook and predicting flat sales for the key holiday season.
tags: Games | Sales | Electronic Arts | Profits |

Quarterly Profits Triple for Apple on Blockbuster iPod Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 5:27am.
Cupertino, Calif. -- Buoyed by strong demand for its iPod digital music players, Apple on Wednesday reported a three-fold jump in quarterly net income. The company shipped 860,000 iPods during the quarter -- up 183% from the same period a year ago -- as well as 876,000 Macintosh computers, a 14% increase. Apple posted a net profit of $61 million for the quarter, up from $19 million, on revenue of $2.01 billion, up 30%. "It was an outstanding quarter-our highest third quarter revenue in eight years," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.
tags: iPod | Apple | Quarterly | Blockbuster | Profits |

Yahoo Sees Profits More Than Double

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 7, 2004 - 6:57am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Buoyed by a rebound in the online advertising market, Yahoo on Wednesday said that it more than doubled its quarterly earnings of a year ago. The company reported earnings of $112.5 million, up from $50.8 million a year ago, on revenue of $832.3 million, up from $321.4 million. The results matched analysts' expectations, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. Susan Decker, the CFO of Yahoo, said that the company is benefiting from its "diverse and balanced sources of revenue, which have well positioned the company to deliver strong, consistent and profitable growth." Revenue from fee-based services, such as premium e-mail, grew 49%.
tags: Yahoo | Profits | Double |

Pirated Games, Modified Game Consoles Reaping Profits in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:14am.
Beijing -- While Sony's PlayStation 2 sells for $240 in China -- about a quarter of the average annual income of an urban worker -- and games go for between $24 and $50, illegally modified consoles that sell for $180 and can play pirated games are outselling official models by two or three times, Reuters reported. "The scenario which occurs in the United States where the PS2 is cheaper than the PC just doesn't work over here," said Chen Danian, COO of Chinese online games firm Shanda Interactive Games. Although Sony has only released six official PlayStation 2 games in China since launching the console there in January, gamers can find most titles on the black market for about $0.85 each. Sony rival Microsoft has yet to launch its Xbox game console in China.
tags: China | Profits | Pirated Games | Modified Games |

Bertelsmann Profits Fall 25% For 2002

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 25, 2003 - 4:14am.
Guetersloh, Germany -- The second largest media group in Europe, Bertelsmann, announced on Tuesday that the company's profits fell 25 percent last year, due mostly to declining sales and a write off for the purchase of Zomba Music Group. Net income fell to 928 million euro ($995 million), while sales dropped 3.5 percent to 18.3 billion euro ($19.5 billion), the company said. Bertelsmann has been selling assets and closing units in a bid to reduce an enormous debt load amassed during the tenure of former CEO Thomas Middelhoff, who engineered the company's investment in Napster.
tags: Bertelsmann | Fall | Profits |