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UPDATE 4-Activision profit up on 'Kung Fu,' 'Guitar Hero'
By Jennifer Martinez
LOS ANGELES, July 31 (Reuters) - Video game publisherActivision Blizzard Inc ATVID.O said quarterly profit at itsActivision unit more than doubled on sales of "Kung Fu Panda"and "Guitar Hero: On Tour," and it raised its 2009 forecast forthe newly merged company.
The company's best-selling "Guitar Hero" franchise, whereplayers pound out tunes on a guitar-shaped controller,continued to drive sales.
"Guitar Hero: On Tour" for Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) DSplatform ranked as the second-best-selling game in the UnitedStates in June and the franchise remained the best-sellingfranchise in the country for the first half of 2008, accordingto market researcher NPD.
Activision earlier this month closed its merger withBlizzard, the games unit of France's Vivendi SA (VIV.PA), whichmakes the popular "World of Warcraft" game. That puts it headto head with Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O) in the battle for thetitle of biggest video game publisher.
Santa Monica, California-based Activision Blizzard raisedits 2009 operating profit forecast to $1.2 billion from $1.1billion, but some on Wall Street had expected more, and sharesdipped slightly in after-hours trading.
"Their guidance is quite conservative and we think thatnumber could be almost 15 percent higher than that," saidSterne, Agee & Leach analyst Arvind Bhatia.
Excluding results from Blizzard, Activision said net incomein the June-ending quarter rose to $59 million, or 18 cents pershare, from $27.8 million, or 9 cents per share, in the sameperiod a year ago.
Not including compensation and merger costs, Activision hada profit of 23 cents per share. On that basis, it topped WallStreet expectations by a penny, according to ReutersEstimates.
Revenue rose 32 percent to $654.2 million, beating theaverage Wall Street expectation of $651.4 million.
For the current quarter, Activision Blizzard expectsrevenues of $636 million. The outlook excludes $50 million insales while Activision was an independent company from July 1through July 9.
The company forecast a net loss of 26 cents per share, anda profit of 8 cents per share, excluding items.
For the December quarter, Activision Blizzard expects netincome of 11 cents per share on revenue of $1.85 billion.Excluding charges, the company sees quarterly earnings of 64cents per share.
Activision Blizzard's rock-solid holiday game line-upincludes the latest Guitar Hero and James Bond games. Blizzard will also release this year "Wrath of the Lich King,"the latest edition of "World of Warcraft," which is played bynearly 11 million.
"They have the best products out there," said JancoPartners analyst Mike Hickey. "When you have the best productsin a hot market you can sleep well at night.
Shares in Activision Blizzard slipped about 2 percent to$35.25 in extended trade from its Nasdaq close of $35.98. (Reporting by Jennifer Martinez; editing by Carol Bishopric,Jeffrey Benkoe, Gary Hill)
Article Source: www.reuters.com.
LOS ANGELES, July 31 (Reuters) - Video game publisherActivision Blizzard Inc ATVID.O said quarterly profit at itsActivision unit more than doubled on sales of "Kung Fu Panda"and "Guitar Hero: On Tour," and it raised its 2009 forecast forthe newly merged company.
The company's best-selling "Guitar Hero" franchise, whereplayers pound out tunes on a guitar-shaped controller,continued to drive sales.
"Guitar Hero: On Tour" for Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) DSplatform ranked as the second-best-selling game in the UnitedStates in June and the franchise remained the best-sellingfranchise in the country for the first half of 2008, accordingto market researcher NPD.
Activision earlier this month closed its merger withBlizzard, the games unit of France's Vivendi SA (VIV.PA), whichmakes the popular "World of Warcraft" game. That puts it headto head with Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O) in the battle for thetitle of biggest video game publisher.
Santa Monica, California-based Activision Blizzard raisedits 2009 operating profit forecast to $1.2 billion from $1.1billion, but some on Wall Street had expected more, and sharesdipped slightly in after-hours trading.
"Their guidance is quite conservative and we think thatnumber could be almost 15 percent higher than that," saidSterne, Agee & Leach analyst Arvind Bhatia.
Excluding results from Blizzard, Activision said net incomein the June-ending quarter rose to $59 million, or 18 cents pershare, from $27.8 million, or 9 cents per share, in the sameperiod a year ago.
Not including compensation and merger costs, Activision hada profit of 23 cents per share. On that basis, it topped WallStreet expectations by a penny, according to ReutersEstimates.
Revenue rose 32 percent to $654.2 million, beating theaverage Wall Street expectation of $651.4 million.
For the current quarter, Activision Blizzard expectsrevenues of $636 million. The outlook excludes $50 million insales while Activision was an independent company from July 1through July 9.
The company forecast a net loss of 26 cents per share, anda profit of 8 cents per share, excluding items.
For the December quarter, Activision Blizzard expects netincome of 11 cents per share on revenue of $1.85 billion.Excluding charges, the company sees quarterly earnings of 64cents per share.
Activision Blizzard's rock-solid holiday game line-upincludes the latest Guitar Hero and James Bond games. Blizzard will also release this year "Wrath of the Lich King,"the latest edition of "World of Warcraft," which is played bynearly 11 million.
"They have the best products out there," said JancoPartners analyst Mike Hickey. "When you have the best productsin a hot market you can sleep well at night.
Shares in Activision Blizzard slipped about 2 percent to$35.25 in extended trade from its Nasdaq close of $35.98. (Reporting by Jennifer Martinez; editing by Carol Bishopric,Jeffrey Benkoe, Gary Hill)
Article Source: www.reuters.com.