Atari today announced "stable" 9-month revenues for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2009. Sales were down 1.2% to 92.5 million euros. The publisher said that revenues in the U.S. actually grew by 22% but that was offset by much reduced sales (down almost 53%) in Europe.
Atari said that U.S. operations represented more than 85% of sales, driven by Ghostbusters: The Video Game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Backyard Football and Champions Online. The U.S. business also benefited from the growth of higher margin licensing and online revenues, and higher third-party distribution revenue resulting from the local distribution deals which started in the third quarter of 2008/2009, the company explained.
“9-month revenues were stable versus last year with a higher share of high margin sales. Also, with the additional cash raised recently, the Company has now strengthened its equity and is in a position to work on an expanded publishing plan. In early February, Atari launched Star Trek Online, supported by a strong marketing plan. This is a promising MMO game, and I am very enthusiastic about the launch," said Jeff Lapin, CEO of Atari.
For the current fiscal year, Atari hopes to leverage its IP portfolio. The publisher just released the aforementioned Star Trek Online for PC in the U.S. and Europe, and other upcoming titles include Project Runway for Wii and PC this spring, along with Backyard Baseball for Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Additionally, this month Atari will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its famous IP Missile Command through its Atari.com platform, and the publisher is planning more games for Atari.com "throughout the year."
Besides the fiscal news, Atari today also announced the appointment of Phil Veneziano as the new Chief Financial Officer of Atari Group. Veneziano had joined Atari Inc. as CFO last August. He now succeeds Fabrice Hamaide who is leaving "in light of the shift of business operations to the U.S. and the completion of the restructuring." Atari acknowledged Hamaide's "key role in the Company’s transformation, the improvement of the cost structure, the acquisition of Cryptic Studios, the sale of distribution operations in Europe and Asia, and the recently completed capital increase." Veneziano, who will be based in the U.S., was previously VP of Finance at online career services management company TheLadders.com Inc. In the past, he also held numerous financial management positions at News Corporation.
