After a weak quarter with high loss, EA cuts more than every 10th job. While the revenue rose by 10 percent, the loss was 641 million US$ in the last quarter of 2008. The total loss accumulated to 1 billion US$.
I guess (and hope) that there's no reason to worry for the UO team, as UO generates a solid benefit. The UO team we're currently having may be the best ever. We all cross our thumbs for them.
nothing like posting a partial news story , geez
they also went on to mention that there online games have made profit where as the rest of EA is loosing profit.
"Revenue jumped 10 percent to $1.65 billion. The company also booked $88 million of revenue related to digital content and online-enabled games."
here is the whole news story...
"Electronic Arts posts wider loss, hurt by charges (AP)
Posted on Tue Feb 3, 2009 7:33PM EST
NEW YORK - Hurt by weak holiday sales and a slew of charges, video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. posted a wider net loss for its fiscal third quarter and fell short of analysts' expectations Tuesday.
But the economic turmoil was not the main culprit. Chief Executive John Riccitiello said a "a significant portion" of the quarter's shortfall, as well as the company's sharply reduced outlook for the rest of the year, has to do with EA's own performance.
"Clear and simple, our titles did not perform to our expectations," Riccitiello told analysts during a conference call. EA had warned in December its holiday sales were softer than expected, even though the overall industry had a strong season.
For the three months that ended Dec. 31, the publisher of games like "Rock Band" and "Madden NFL" lost $641 million, or $2 per share. In the same period a year earlier, it lost $33 million, or 10 cents per share.
Excluding charges, EA said it would have earned 56 cents per share, but that was less than the 88 cents per share expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue jumped 10 percent to $1.65 billion. The company also booked $88 million of revenue related to digital content and online-enabled games. Counting the deferred revenue, the sales total was $1.74 billion, below analysts' expectations of $1.9 billion.
Still, EA's shares, which closed up more than 4 percent in Tuesday's trading, jumped nearly 5 percent in the after-hours session in what may have been investors' growing confidence that the company's cost-cutting measures are going in the right direction.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said he was "really impressed" that EA took responsibility for the weak results, and called the cost-cutting measures "realistic." EA is in the process of laying off 1,100 employees — 11 percent of its work force — and it's closing 12 facilities to trim costs and restructure its business.
The company is also scaling back its product portfolio, focusing on high-quality games that are likely to be big hits. Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said in an interview EA's plan also includes focusing more on games for the Nintendo Wii, which has been far outselling rival consoles like Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2.
Japan's Nintendo Co. makes the bulk of the hit games for the Wii, but EA plans to capitalize on the console's popularity through upcoming games like EA Sports Active, a fitness product that takes advantage of the system's motion controller.
In what Riccitiello called "a clear disappointment," Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts said it expects a loss of $3.29 to $3.56 per share for fiscal 2009, which ends in March. Excluding charges, it expects to post a loss of 35 cents per share — far below the profit of 60 cents per share that analysts were expecting.
The company also forecast sales of $4.2 billion to $4.25 billion and adjusted revenue of $4.1 billion, the latter below analysts' expectations of $4.66 billion.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2010, the company said it plans to slash operating costs by $500 million to align it with its lower sales projection.
Pachter praised the cuts.
"They were spending way ahead of their revenue generation and they have to catch up," he said.
EA expects 2010 per-share results in the range of a loss of 5 cents to a profit of 40 cents. It forecast adjusted earnings of $1 a share, compared with analysts' expectations of $1.09.
The company expects sales of $4.2 billion to $4.35 billion and adjusted revenue of $4.3 billion. Analysts are predicting $4.68 billion in sales.
The company's shares jumped 70 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $16.20 in after-hours trading, having closed up 64 cents, or 4.3 percent, at $15.50."
sure they have a loss, but not that much compared to many other places.
also keep in mind unless they make some new game once you buy a game there really is no need to buy a second one, eventually supply and demand take over and there just is no demand.. ( kinda like the automakers.. never should have gotten bailout $$ when it is simply a supply and demand type situation.. giving them $$ is
not going to make people buy more car's )
