EA Revenues, Profits Beat The Street

EA posted an impressive 53 percent increase in quarterly revenue over last year on strong sales of games across all platforms. That resulted in a profit of $47.3 million (33 cents per share), compared to the $17.9 million loss last year. For the year, revenue increased by 30 percent to $1.7 billion, resulting in net income of $101.5 million (71 cents per share). Last year the company posted an $11.1 million loss (8 cents per share). The company cited the following recently released games as its star performers for the quarter: Medal of Honor Allied Assault, Command & Conquer Renegade and The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack on the PC; Knockout Kings 2002, Triple Play 2002, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf 2002 on the PS2; James Bond 007 in...Agent Under Fire and NBA Street on the GameCube; and James Bond 007 in...Agent Under Fire on the Xbox. EA representatives said the company expects revenue to grow over 20 percent in its core business this fiscal year. Many eyes focused on the performance of EA.com. It has traditionally been the company's weakest performing unit, and suffered through a difficult year in which the much-hyped Majestic was cancelled and hundreds of employees were laid off. Net revenues for the online unit were up 83% during the year to $77.2 million. Yet it still posted a pro forma net loss of $81.7 million, compared to its $99.4 million loss last year. That pro forma net loss excludes $33.3 million in charges, compared to $9.4 million last year. With those charges factored in, EA.com actually saddled Electronic Arts with a larger loss than last year, by $6 million.