Atari Releases Disappointing Q1 ResultsAtari Releases Disappointing Q1 Results

U.S. publisher and developer Atari, Inc. has announced its financial results for the fiscal 2006 first quarter ended June 30, 2005, and has revealed extremely disappointing revenues of $24.2 million, compared to $108.1 million in the comparable period a year earlier. Net loss for the quarter for the company, which recently faced NASDAQ delisting on a technicality, and also had to tackle the surprise resignation of CEO Jim Caparro, was $32.8 million, compared to a net profit of $12.1 million in the previous year, when the company debuted the critically poorly-received but high-selling Reflections title Driv3R. Echoing comments in the related and also disappointing results of parent company Infogrames last month, Atari is also banking on a resurgence via a lineup of games debuting in the holiday season, such as The Matrix: Path of Neo, Mark Ecko's Getting Up, and Dragon Ball Z Budokai: Tenkaichi to drive profits in the remainder of the year. Atari's continuing financial woes meant that it was necessary to secure waivers for failure to comply with first quarter financial covenants included in the Company's credit facility with HSBC Business Credit, the asset-based lending unit of HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and to obtain amendments to those covenants for the remainder of the Company's fiscal year. However, Atari claimed that parent company Infogrames, which itself is carrying significant long-term debt, would help it out financially if further problems arose. Nonetheless, Bruno Bonnell, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Atari was upbeat in an official statment released alongside the results, commenting: "Fiscal 2006 is a year of focus at Atari as we are committed to improving the Company's financial position, growing our market share on a global basis, capitalizing on technological innovations and releasing unique new products which appeal to both hardcore gamers and the mass-audience."