EA Reports 12th Consecutive Loss
Electronic Arts posted a net loss for the 12th consecutive quarter on Monday after being unable to fight its way out of the red over the Christmas holidays.
The California-based company posted a third-quarter net loss of $82 million, compared with a net loss of $641 million a year ago.
The revenue for the last quarter declined 23 percent to $1.24 billion.
"The decline is due to several factors, including fewer titles this holiday quarter versus the 2008 holiday quarter, and a weak overall packaged goods sector in Europe," EA said in a statement.
Sales were driven by titles such as "Dragon Age: Origins," "Left 4 Dead 2" and "NBA Live," along with series games like "FIFA 10," "Madden NFL 10," and "The Sims 3."
EA said it expects between $925 million and one billion of revenue in the current quarter.
"’Mass Effect 2′ is the first blockbuster of 2010 and we are looking forward to the launch of "Dante’s Inferno" and ‘Battlefield Bad Company 2,’" EA chief executive John Riccitiello told AFP.
Wall Street analysts were disappointed by the two cents to six cents earnings per share reported by EA after expecting earnings of up to 13 cents for the current quarter.
EA said that for fiscal 2011 it expects revenue between $3.45 billion and $3.70 billion, which is below the $4.07 billion which analysts expect.
EA shares dropped 8.40 percent in after-hours electronic trade to $16.30.
"The company cannot find its footing and cannot find its way home," analyst Jon Ogg said on 247WallSt.com.
"In fact, things are getting to the point that many holders and traders are starting to hope that the price of the stock is low enough that the company will just get acquired."
According to a Top Global Markets report released last week compiled using figures from the NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Ltd and Enterbrain Inc., videogame sales in the three leading markets declined eight percent last year to 379.3 million units.
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