Instrument Peripherals Boost Mad Catz Over 50 Percent

The fake instrument business appears to be booming. Peripheral maker Mad Catz saw sales increase almost 53 percent in its fiscal second quarter to $25.8 million on its line of Rock Band peripherals, which includes specialty instruments for Xbox 360 and a set of music peripherals for the Wii version of the game. The company's profits were also up 56 percent to $7.7 million, but it still saw a $1.2 million loss compared to a profit of $0.9 million during the same period last year. Over the quarter, Mad Catz says it continued to expand its presence on current-gen consoles, which accounted for 42 percent of its total sales, and it also broadened its global sales outside North America, which went up to 43 percent from 30 percent. It also launched an online store in Europe called GameShark that sells interactive entertainment accessories online, and extended its rights to manufacture and market backpacks, messenger bags and other carrying cases for Xbox 360 consoles and accessories. Finally, Mad Catz received licenses to produce branded accessories based on Capcom's Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando and Resident Evil 5, and Ubisoft's Petz and Rayman Raving Rabbids games. Mad Catz president Darren Richardson said that the improved performance also reflects the benefit of the company's merger with former competitor Saitek. Said Richardson, "While there is still progress to be made to improve our SG&A cost structure, and undoubtedly the overall outlook for consumer spending is concerning, we remain firmly committed to leverage our strong product portfolio and global distribution network to continue to grow revenue, earnings, cash flow and shareholder value."