Eidos Hikes Sales, Narrows Losses In Six-Month Results

UK company Eidos Interactive saw revenues increase by 26 percent in the six months ended December 2008 -- and the Tomb Raider publisher also managed to reduce its losses to £1 million ($1.4m). The release of Tomb Raider: Underworld helped revenues to rise to £80.3 million, compared to £63.4 million ($113.5m) at the same time the previous year. Even more significantly, the company also managed to shave its net debt from £5.7 million ($8.1m) to £3.2 million ($4.5) -- the net loss figure of £1 million stood at £81.4 million ($115.0m) the previous year. Although Eidos previously admitted disappointment with Tomb Raider: Underworld’s sales, the title racked up 2.6 million unit sales in the period, with a faster rate of sell-through than either Tomb Raider: Legend or Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Square Enix is currently engaged in an attempted acquisition of Eidos, and Eidos’ board is recommending that shareholders accept the deal. The takeover will be put to a formal vote in March. "The first six months of trading this year were characterized by an incredibly competitive and increasingly challenging retail environment," says CEO Phil Rogers. "The changes made at Eidos over the past year, coupled with the continued hard work and determination of our employees and external partners, means we are well placed one year into our three-year strategic plan to produce higher-quality, must-have games to entertain our consumer."