Majesco Raises Guidance On Strong Sales, Increased Loss

New Jersey-based Cooking Mama publisher Majeco Games posted a 60 percent rise in sales for its fiscal Q2 and raised its fiscal year revenue guidance, but earnings for the quarter took a hit as marketing efforts ramped up. The Wii Balance Board-compatible fitness game Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 and the Cooking Mama franchise drove Majesco sales to $20.5 million for the quarter ended April 30, up from $12.8 million a year prior. Strong sales and a promising release schedule led the publisher to raise its fiscal 2009 revenue guidance from $80 million to $85 million. While Majesco sales swelled, losses grew to $1.7 million, a year-on-year increase from $300,000 in losses for fiscal Q2 2008. CEO Jesse Sutton said in a statement, "As expected, profitability in the quarter was dampened by our strategic marketing campaigns as we made investments to support the growth of our franchises and most promising titles. We believe the benefits of these investments will continue beyond the first half of 2009 and help drive future growth." For the six months ended April 30, revenues rose 69.8 percent to $53.4 million year-on-year. Despite reporting Q2 losses, earnings during the period were up slightly to $2.5 million from $2.4 million for the same period a year ago. During the third quarter, Majesco is launching or has launched games including Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Wii/DS/360/PC), and the DS games Drama Queens, Math Blaster in the Prime Adventure, and Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure (a DSiWare game). In the fourth quarter, Majesco hopes to find exer-game success once again with Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for Wii and Jillian Michaels' Pocket Trainer 2010 for DS. In recent years, Majesco changed its business strategy to focus on mass market-friendly titles. The publisher has a prime focus on the Wii and DS market, expecting to release 18 DS and 14 Wii titles in 2009.