SCi Reports Loss On Improved Revenue

UK-based game publisher and developer SCi announced its interim results for the six months ended December 31, 2005, which include revenue of UKP50.1 million ($87 million), but a loss of UKP12.2 million ($21.2 million), as a relatively quiet Christmas release schedule took hold, and key titles in the Tomb Raider and Hitman franchises were moved back for quality improvement reasons. The increased revenues that SCi, which acquired fellow British publisher Eidos in early 2005, did see were attributed the success of the co-published Lego Star Wars, which has sold over 3.3 million units since its launch in April 2005. The company plans to extend its relationship with Lego by co-publishing Lego Bionicle during the 2007 financial year. The company indicated that it continues to have strong expectations for second half profitability, with key title Tomb Raider Legend confirmed for an April release, and 25 to Life and Commandos: Strike Force released in January and March respectively. Other titles confirmed for second half release include Championship Manager 2005/6, Rogue Trooper, Hitman: Blood Money, and Urban Chaos. “Our plans for the full year remain well on track,” said Jane Cavanagh, Chief Executive of Sci. “Following SCi's acquisition of Eidos in May 2005 we have integrated the two groups, achieved target cost savings and rebuilt the strength of key Eidos franchises. We are confident that the launch of eagerly awaited titles such as Tomb Raider Legend and Hitman: Blood Money provides a firm base to our profitability for the full 2006 financial year.” In addition, SCi announced an agreement with Celador to publish Who Wants to be a Millionaire? On both the PSP and PlayStation 2 platforms, as well as the acquisition of Stacked with Daniel Negreanu for European publishing. Sci also noted that they will ship versions of their forthcoming Tomb Raider Legend for the Nintendo DS, GBA and GameCube platforms during the 2007 financial year. Cavanagh continued, stating that the newly-merged company is continuing to build its product portfolio for the 2007 and 2008 financial years, and that today's announcements of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Stacked are a part of the company's long-term plan. During SCi's 2007 financial year, it expects to primarily focus on titles for the Xbox 360, PSP and PlayStation 2, on top of the PC market. The company currently has plans to release titles for the PlayStation 3 in summer 2007.