WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Video-game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO), Tuesday posted a wider loss for the fourth quarter, hurt mostly by lower revenues and increased selling and general expenses. Loss for the quarter was more that what analysts expected, while revenues came in ahead of estimates.
Moving forward, Take-Two Interactive detailed its outlook for fiscal year 2013, with earnings indicated to miss Street estimates, while revenues are likely to come in line with expectations.
Take-Two shares initially dropped 3 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq, but is currently up over 4 percent.
Take-Two's net revenues for the quarter were impacted by the postponement of the release of Max Payne 3 to the first quarter of fiscal year 2013. The year-ago quarter included post-launch performance of Red Dead Redemption.
The company said the strongest contributors to net revenue in the 2012 quarter were new titles including NBA 2K12, Major League Baseball 2K12 and The Darkness II; and catalog sales led by the Grand Theft Auto franchise and Red Dead Redemption.
Digitally delivered content accounted for 19 percent of net revenue, driven by offerings for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, the Sid Meier's Civilization franchise, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands, NBA 2K12 and L.A. Noire.
CEO Strauss Zelnick said, '... While our financial results were disappointing, the decisions we made position Take-Two for growth and profitability both this year and over the long-term.'
New York-based Take-Two Interactive reported fourth-quarter net loss of $66.8 million or $0.79 per share, compared to a net loss of $22 million or $0.27 per share last year.
Excluding items, loss for the quarter was $51 million or $0.60 per share, compared to loss of $14.4 million or $0.18 per share a year ago.
On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of $0.55 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net revenues for the quarter totaled $148 million, compared to $182 million last year. Seventeen analysts estimated revenues of $139.89 million for the quarter.
Take-Two expects first-quarter non-GAAP loss of $0.75 to $0.60 per share and revenues of $225 million to $275 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.14 per share on revenues of $302.08 million for the quarter.
For fiscal year 2013, Take-Two expects adjusted earnings of $2.00 to $2.25 per share and revenues of $1.75 billion to $1.85 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.77 per share on revenues of $1.80 billion for the year.
TTWO closed Tuesday at $11.16, down $0.11 or 0.98%, on a volume of about 2.9 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained $0.48 or 4.30%. In the past year, the stock has traded in a range $10.63 - $17.21.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2012 AFX News
