Infogrames First Half Revenue Down 14 Percent

Following the recent modest upturn posted by struggling publisher Atari last week, the company's European parent, Infogrames, has posted its financial results covering the first half of the 2006/2007 fiscal year, showing a 14 percent decline in revenue. For the period, revenue fell to €105.5 million ($135.3 million) from the €123 million ($157.5 million) posted during the same period last year. However, Infogrames officials note that this figure does not include revenue resulting from discontinued operations of studios such as Paradigm Entertainment, Reflections, and Shiny, which together accounted for €2.7 million ($3.5 million) in revenue a year ago. Infogrames officials estimate the company's profit for the period ended September 30, 2006 to be negative €33.4 million ($42.76 million). While still a substantial loss, the number is up from the €45.4 million ($58.1 million) loss posted during the same period a year ago. The company's actual results will be released on November 29, 2006. Looking at the second quarter specifically, revenue was €61.1 million ($78.2 million), with the bulk derived from the European and Asian markets. These regions accounted for 63.5 percent of Infogrames sales for the quarter, while United States operations, including Atari, made up the remaining 36.5 percent balance. According to Infogrames, the company's top selling titles for the period included Test Drive Unlimited for the Xbox 360, as well as multiplatform titles released as part of the company's popular Dragon Ball Z license. Infogrames indicated that software sales for the period reflected a “sharp increase” in the number of titles sold for the Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. In all, sales of titles for these platforms accounted for 48 percent of Infogrames total game sales for the half. PlayStation 2 releases were responsible for 26 percent of sales, while PC sales, including those made online, generated 25 percent of the company's revenue for the six month period. Looking ahead to the second half, Infogrames is expected to ship a number of titles, most of which derived for the company's popular licenses. Notable scheduled releases for the remainder of the fiscal year include Neverwinter Nights 2 for the PC, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 for the PlayStation 2 and Wii, Bulletwitch for the Xbox 360, Dungeons and Dragons Tactics for the PSP, and Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop 2 for the Nintendo DS.