Electronic Arts posted its first-quarter fiscal results for the period ending June 30 today, and the publisher net sales slipped while net loss rose significantly. Total revenue (including the impact of deferred revenue adjustments) came to $644 million, way down from the $804 million posted a year earlier. EA noted that the company had "a net revenue deferral of $172 million related to certain online-enabled packaged goods games and digital content as compared with a net benefit of $195 million in the first quarter of the prior year." EA's net loss for the quarter skyrocketed from $95 million to $234 million.
Although the results weren't pretty, EA did have some encouraging highlights, including 3.7 million copies sold for The Sims 3 and a huge uptick in the Wii market thanks to EA Sports Active, which sold over 1.8 million copies in the quarter, making it the publisher's best-selling Wii title to date. Consequently, EA’s Wii share hit a record 21 percent in North America and was 13 percent in Europe – Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10, EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis and Rock Band 2 also contributed to this.
“Good execution delivered better-than-expected financial results in the first quarter,” said John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer. “We are very pleased with the success of both The Sims 3 and EA Sports Active.”
“Our Q1 performance was driven by our previously announced cost-cutting initiatives and a strong frontline slate,” said Eric Brown, Chief Financial Officer. “We had a solid Q1 both top and bottom line and we are focused on delivering the balance of the year.”
EA also stressed that it was the #1 publisher in North America and Europe in the June quarter with four of the top-ten games in North America and Europe. EA emphasized its focus on quality; the publisher launched five titles in the quarter that received a Metacritic rating of 80 or above, including Fight Night Round 4, Boom Blox Bash Party, The Sims 3, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 and EA Sports Active. So far in 2009 EA said it's had nine titles rated at 80 or above.
EA has some momentum in the digital and mobile spaces as well. The company posted digital revenue of $124 million, up 38 percent year-over-year, and EA Mobile saw its revenue climb 14 percent to $50 million.
EA is maintaining its full-year guidance for between $3.7 and $3.85 billion in sales, while loss per share has been slightly adjusted (from $0.85 to $1.45) to between $0.85 and $1.35.
