GameStop has announced sales results for nine-week holiday period ended December 31, 2011. Total sales revenue for the period came to $3.019 billion, up slightly from $3.018 billion during the previous year. Importantly, digital sales rose 60 percent, led primarily by sales of Call of Duty Elite subscriptions.
"During the holiday, our solid sales performance of new high-def console software was offset by weak Wii software sales and hardware sales due to the lack of new hardware offerings versus the 2010 period. We were pleased with the performance of our buy-sell-trade business, digital offerings and mobile initiatives. GameStop also retired the remainder of its long-term debt establishing a debt-free balance sheet as we go into 2012,” said chief executive officer Paul Raines.
Total sales of new video games software increased 9.9 percent to $1.47 billion, with PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Used video games software increased 3.5 percent over last year and 7.0 percent year-to-date, hitting $627.9 million for the period. New hardware sales declined 19.6 percent to $538.9 million with fewer new console products for the season.
During the holiday period, GameStop also repurchased two million shares at $22.38, for $45.2 million worth of stock.
