Electronic Arts Inc. said better-than-expected sales of new
videogame consoles has helped to increase sales at a more rapid
pace than it expected, powering increased profits along the
way.
The videogame maker, known for its "Madden NFL" franchise of
football games, said it would commit $750 million to a share
buyback plan following upticks in its results.
" Sony and Microsoft sold more boxes than we thought they would,
and our marketshare has been better than we thought it would be,"
said Blake Jorgensen, EA's chief financial officer.
The company said its profit for the fourth quarter ended March
31 rose nearly 14% to $367 million, or $1.15 a share, from $323
million, or $1.05 per share, a year earlier. Revenue, however,
dropped slightly to $1.12 billion from $1.21 billion in the
year-earlier period.
Adjusting for items such as deferred revenue and stock-based
compensation, the company recorded per-share earnings of 48 cents,
on revenue of $914 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on
average had been expecting per-share earnings of 11 cents on
revenue of $812 million.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects to record an adjusted
loss of 5 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter ending June 30,
on $700 million in revenue, ahead of analyst expectations.
For the year, EA said it expects adjusted per-share earnings of
$1.85, far above analyst expectations of $1.52. Revenue is expected
to be $4.1 billion, roughly in line with estimates.
Write to Ian Sherr at ian.sherr@wsj.com
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