Mad Catz Sees Full Year Profits Enter Black

Representatives from third party peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz Interactive have announced the company’s fourth quarter and final year results, with last year’s net losses all being turned around. Sales for the quarter ended March 31st were put at $19.3 million, up 12.1 percent from the same time last year, while profits rose from losses of $3.3 million in 2006 to a profit of $0.7 million. For the full year, sales fell by 1.0 percent to $99.7 million from the previous year. Profit was up to $3.7 million from a net loss of $6.7 million over the previous twelve months. European sales increased for the eighth consecutive quarter, up by 31.0 percent to $4.7 million. U.S. sales also rose 21.6 percent to $13.9 million during the fourth quarter. The company also saw record quarterly gross margins of 29.1 percent and reduced total operating expenses to 21.5 percent of net sales. The company attributed the positive results to the introduction of new product lines for the PlayStation 3 and the Wii, as well as continued penetration of Xbox 360 products and accessories. It also continued its policy of signing licensing deals with prominent sports leagues and software titles, with new deals encompassing BioWare’s Mass Effect and Microsoft’s Halo 3, plus the NFL, NBA and MLB. Commenting on the results, president and CEO Darren Richardson stated, “Mad Catz is focused on a three-pronged approach to growth. First, we will continue to seek to align our products with sports leagues, entertainment brands and high-profile software franchises to generate heightened demand for our controllers and accessories.” “Second, we plan to develop further hardware/software bundles such as Real World Golf and the Xbox 360 Arcade Stick. These higher-margin products allow us to leverage our distribution channels and proven ability to create quality hardware and accessories that incorporate complementary software applications to provide gamers with a quality, integrated product”, continued Richardson. “Finally, we continue to pursue opportunities in adjacent categories, such as personal audio devices. For example, last November we acquired the InAir Technology and we plan to bring several products to market this fall which incorporate this innovation in headphone listening."