SCi Profit Predictions Up On Tomb Raider, Hitman Success

Author: by David Jenkins, Simon Carless

Officials from British publisher and Eidos Interactive parent company SCi (Tomb Raider, Hitman) have announced that the company expects to make full year pre-tax profits, before interest and amortization, of approximately £25 million ($45.5m). Following the acquisition of Eidos in May 2005, SCi itself became embroiled in rumors that it would be bought, presumably by a larger publisher, although all such talks were announced as being officially closed in February of this year, dispelling uncertainty over possible deals. Since then, the company has garnered considerable success with the relaunch of the Tomb Raider series in Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider: Legends, which has now sold 2.9 million units worldwide on all formats. The more recent Hitman: Blood Money has also performed well, according to the firm, with 1.5 million units sold in Europe and North America. The trading update also noted the launch of soccer simulation Championship Manager 2006/07 on PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox and PSP, which has apparently achieved "consistent high chart positions in the UK and strong review scores", although specific sales figures were not revealed. It was also mentioned that SCi has "continued to enjoy strong revenues from the distribution of Lego Star Wars", which has now sold over 3.5 million units worldwide. The predictions are in-line with market expectations, following a successful year at retail for the company which came after its high profile purchase of fellow British publisher Eidos Interactive. The company finished the financial year with cash of over £30 million ($54.6m), which it said was significantly ahead of market expectations of £15.1m ($27.5m). SCi CEO Jane Cavanagh commented of the results that that the group has “an even more extensive portfolio of new products to come to market" and is "optimistic" about its prospects for the future, naming nineteen new product launches planned for 2007, including Tomb Raider 10th Anniversary, Lego Bionicle, Reservoir Dogs and Just Cause. This compares to nine new releases in 2006. The company also pointed to a recently announced arrangement with Warner Brothers Interactive to distribute game titles Justice League Heroes, Tom and Jerry and 300 March to Glory as another possible area of revenue growth in 2007, alongside SCi's New Media division, which "includes mobile and on-line entertainment", and is planned to expand.