Revenues dip for Take-Two during fiscal third quarter

Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption publisher Take-Two on Thursday posted decreased revenues for its fiscal third quarter, with much of its income coming from the October release NBA2K12. For the quarter ended December 31, 2011, the company said its revenues fell within expectations and reached $236.3 million, down 41.5 percent from the $334.3 million brought in during the same period in 2010. The company reported that its revenues were down this quarter because last year's figures were boosted by strong sales for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption, the game's Undead Nightmare content, and the Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete collection. Non-GAAP profits for the recent quarter hit $29 million, down from $49.5 million year over year. Looking at its top-performing games of the quarter, Take-Two said that much of its revenue was driven by the performance of NBA2K12, which has sold 4 million units to date. A number of older titles also heavily contributed to the quarter's revenues, including the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Redemption, Midnight Club Los Angeles, and Borderlands. In addition, the company's digitally-distributed content made up 11 percent of its overall revenues. The iOS and Android release Grand Theft Auto III - 10th Anniversary Edition was a major contributor to this segment, as were digital releases of Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands, and L.A. Noire. The company said that for its fiscal fourth quarter, it expects to bring in between $112 and $162 million, with revenues driven by upcoming releases such as The Darkness II and MLB2K12, in addition to NBA2K12. Looking forward to its next fiscal year, Zelnick said, "Fiscal 2013 is expected to be one of our best years ever, with substantial revenue growth and Non-GAAP net income in excess of $2.00 per diluted share. We are well positioned to continue to deliver growth and profitability over the long-term."