EA Sales Up in Q2 due to Sports Titles, Lowers Holiday Sales Estimate
by William D'Angelo, posted on 31 October 2012 / 4,422 Views
Electronic Arts has announced its preliminary financial results for its second quarter, which ended September 30, 2012. The publisher saw revenue of $1.08 billion, a slight increase over the $1.03 billion in revenue during the same period a year ago. EA saw losses of $381 million, which is up from $340 million in losses last year.
"EA is performing well, once again beating street consensus in fiscal Q2," said Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello. "We delivered yet another quarter of sharp digital growth, with digital revenue up 40% compared to the same period last year, reflecting our strength across multiple brands and channels."
"Record numbers of players have engaged in the online features and content downloads for FIFA 13, Madden NFL 13, and Battlefield," said EA President Frank Gibeau. "On the strength of our digital extensions, FIFA and Battlefield are the two biggest revenue events in our company's history. Both are well on their way to becoming billion dollar annual franchises."
EA announced that strong sales from its sports titles and the increase in the digital market helped the publisher meet its expectations for the quarter. FIFA 13 managed to sell 7.4 million units in just four weeks, while Madden NFL 13 sales increased by nine percent compared to Madden NFL 12. Digital sales increased by 40 percent compared to last year, to $324 million.
EA also released its outlook for its third quarter, which includes the holiday period. EA expects revenue to be between $1.25 billion and $1.35 billion, which is down slightly compared to what analysts are expecting, $1.39 billion. During the investor conference call, EA CEO John Riccitiello said that the lower than expected sales in Medal of Honor: Warfighter have hindered the companies expectations for the third quarter.
