EA Reduces Quarterly Loss, Claims #1 Publisher Position

Electronic Arts saw its fiscal third quarter revenue decline year over year, but at the same time shrunk its net loss from $641 million to $82 million, while reaching a company high for digital revenue. Revenue for the quarter that ended December 31 was $1.243 billion, down 24.8 percent from $1.654 billion in the same quarter of the prior year. EA says the decline was due to a number of factors including a smaller release slate compared to 2008's holiday season and a relatively weak market in Europe. Standouts for the company during its fiscal Q3 were BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins, Valve's Left 4 Dead 2, EA Canada's NBA Live 10 and FIFA 10, EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 10, and The Sims 3. Digital revenue has been growing quickly for EA, up 30 percent year-over-year to reach a high of $152 million on a non-GAAP basis. For the company overall, on a non-GAAP basis including deferred revenue not applied to the GAAP results, EA posted a net profit of $109 million during its third quarter, down from $179 million the previous year. The publisher says that during the nine months from April through December 2009, its fiscal year to date, Electronic Arts was the overall number one publisher in North America in Europe. It also claims to be the top publisher specifically on the PC, PlayStation 3, and PSP, and the number two publisher on Xbox 360 and Wii. [UPDATE: Despite the decreased loss, Electronic Arts' stock price dropped 8.5 percent to $16 in extended trading after the company released its earnings data. As the Associated Press notes, EA's outlook is considered weaker than expected by analysts, with a profit of 2 cents to 6 cents per share on revenue of $800 million to $850 million predicted - below average analyst estimates of a profit of 13 cents per share on sales of $851 million.]