Take-Two Interactive Software reported earnings that met revenue expectations for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, but it fell short on earnings targets.
The New York-based company reported non-GAAP earnings per share of 31 cents (versus a loss of 14 cents a year ago) on revenues of $366.4 million (up 142 percent from a year ago). Analysts had expected non-GAAP earnings per share of 36 cents on revenues of $351 million. While analysts expected more, Take-Two’s capability to stay profitable long after the initial launch of a Grand Theft Auto title says a great deal about the company and how it makes money these days. In years past, Take-Two would lose money in non-GTA years.
The biggest contributors to revenue in the first fiscal quarter were Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA 2K15, Borderlands: the Handsome Collection, and WWE 2K15.
In after-hours trading, Take-Two’s stock fell 5 percent almost immediately to $29.22 a share, but it’s hovering now at $30 a share.
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Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, estimated before the release that Take-Two would need digital game sales of $219 million to hit its consensus revenue target. In fact, digital revenue grew 139 percent to $254 million.
The NPD market-research group had reported earlier that in the U.S. that Take-Two’s packaged software sales were up 41 percent in the June quarter. Analysts were expecting guidance of 25 cents to 35 cents a share on revenues of $350 million for the second fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30. Take-Two reiterated its previously announced financial outlook for the fiscal year.
“Our business continued its positive momentum during the fiscal first quarter, enabling Take-Two to deliver significant growth in revenue, Non-GAAP earnings and cash flow,” said Strauss Zelnick, the chairman and CEO of Take-Two, in a statement. “These results were driven by strong consumer demand for Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K15 and an array of other titles, along with better-than-expected growth in recurrent consumer spending.
“Fiscal 2016 is off to a solid start and promises to be another year of meaningful non-GAAP profits for our organization. We have a robust development pipeline and are well-positioned to generate revenue growth and margin expansion in future years, and returns for our shareholders over the long-term.”
Grand Theft Auto V has now sold more than 54 million units across all platforms. NBA 2K 16 is launching on the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms on Sept. 29.
Take-Two said that XCOM 2, the sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, is on schedule for release in November. Take-Two will also release via 2K the Rising Tide expansion pack for Firaxis Games’ Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth on the PC.
Last week, Take-Two said that Battleborn will come out on Feb. 9, 2016, while Mafia III will debut during 2016.
For the second fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30, Take-Two estimates its net revenue will be $275 million to $325 million, and that non-GAAP earnings per share will be 5 cents to breakeven.
