Activision Releases Q3 2005 Results, Predicts High Earnings

Activision Inc. is the latest company to discuss its performance during the October to December financial quarter of 2005, which marks the third quarter by its fiscal calendar. The season was a record quarter for the videogame publisher; compared to Q3 2003, net income went up by 26%, from $77 million USD in 2003 to $97.3 million USD in 2004. Net revenues for the third quarter were also $680.1 million or 34% higher, as compared to $508.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2004. The company has further revised its expectations for Q4, from $128 million USD in net revenues to $150 million USD, given the newly confirmed March date for Sony's PSP. Activision will be providing titles in the popular Spider-Man and Tony Hawk Underground franchises to the PSP at launch, as well as releasing high-profile games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Mercenaries, and Star Wars: Republic Commando in Europe. However, Activision did confirm a delay for Vicarious Visions' conversion of id Software's Doom 3 for the Xbox and the Doom 3 PC expansion pack. These products will now be released some time in the 2006 fiscal year, which starts April 1st 2005. Speaking on the company's fiscal 2006 slate, which will debut later in 2005, chairman and CEO Robert Kotick said Activision "will release the strongest game slate in our history which includes new versions of our top-selling fiscal 2005 franchises -- Tony Hawk, Spider-Man, Shrek, Call of Duty, DOOM, and X-Men, as well as games based on True Crime, Fantastic Four, Madagascar, Quake, The Movies, and an original new property from Neversoft, the development team behind the Tony Hawk series."