Majesco Profits, Revenues Slide In Fiscal Q1

New Jersey-based publisher Majesco Games said its Cooking Mama franchise performed well during the company's fiscal Q1, but it wasn't enough to stop a decline in profits and revenues for the quarter. CEO Jesse Sutton said the results were expected, describing the period as "a very solid first quarter," driven by Cooking Mama games and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which is licensed movie game. Revenues for the quarter ended January 31 were $29.2 million, down 11 percent from $32.8 million for the same period a year ago. Profits were $2.5 million, down from $3.7 million year-on-year. Majesco said that the strong performance of the previous year's Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for Wii created a difficult comparison to last year's fiscal Q1. Sutton said, "Our results were in-line with our internal expectations and we remain on track to deliver improved profitability for 2010. We have made significant progress in fine tuning our strategy to meet the challenges of the current operating environment." He added, "We continue to focus our resources on our best opportunities and our costs remain under control. We are committed to improving our profitability and building long-term value for our shareholders." Majesco's announced games lineup is almost exclusively for Nintendo Wii and DS. Upcoming Wii titles include Data East Arcade Classics, Pizza Delivery Boy, Pirates Plundarrr and Dance Sensation!. DS games include Dawn of Heroes, Let's Draw and Crafting Mama. Other games are multiplatform on Wii and DS, while even fewer will be coming to PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. For the full year, the company expects revenues of around $80 million, and non-GAAP earnings per share of around 5 cents. The company is planning 37 SKUs in fiscal 2010, including 14 DS and 16 Wii games, plus games for other platforms. Majesco expects that roughly 62 percent of its 2010 revenue will come from DS titles, with 31 percent from Wii titles and 7 percent from all other platforms.