TTWO TakeTwo Interactive Software Inc

The videogame industry's embrace of digital content and its unwavering demand for popular franchises helped Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. turn out a solid holiday quarter despite a thin slate of releases.

The publisher of the hit "Grand Theft Auto" franchise Wednesday beefed up its full-year outlook and reported adjusted revenue and profit for the fiscal third quarter that topped Wall Street's forecasts.

Take-Two didn't release big titles during the October through December period on par with what it put out a year earlier, when it published "Grand Theft Auto Online" and a refresh of "Grand Theft Auto V" for newer consoles. The dearth showed up in adjusted revenue that sank 49% to $486.8 million. Adjusted profit, meanwhile, dropped to 89 cents a share from $1.87 a year earlier.

Still, the strength of previously released titles, namely the latest "Grand Theft Auto" releases and a new "NBA 2K" game in September, bolstered the company's coffers. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected Take-Two to report $452.8 million in revenue and profit of 50 cents a share on an adjusted basis.

"Grand Theft Auto V" has now sold more than 60 million units to retailers world-wide, the company said.

Take-Two benefited from an industrywide trend of gamers ditching discs for digitally delivered content, such as expansion packs and virtual goods. While spending on total digital items fell 1.7% to $213.6 million, the company said it recorded its highest amount of "recurrent consumer spending" ever. Such recurrent spending includes virtual currency and downloadable add-ons that keep buyers coming back for more.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, Take-Two now expects per-share profit of $1.65 to $1.75, above the $1 to $1.15 it previously had forecast. It expects adjusted revenue between $1.48 billion and $1.53 billion, up from a prior range of $1.33 billion to $1.43 billion.

Take-Two, like other videogame companies, focuses on adjusted figures because U.S. accounting rules require deferring a portion of revenue from online-enabled games.

Under generally accepted account principles, Take-Two said revenue fell 22% to $414.2 million for its fiscal third quarter. It reported a GAAP loss of $42.4 million, compared with net income of $40.1 million for the year-ago period. The loss partly reflected business-reorganization charges of $71.2 million that were offset by about $25 million in tax benefits related to game-development costs, the company said.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2016 16:45 ET (21:45 GMT)

TakeTwo Interactive Soft... (NASDAQ:TTWO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

TakeTwo Interactive Soft... (NASDAQ:TTWO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024