In a bid to save around US$5 million a year, peripherals manufacturer Mad Catz has announced it is making more than a third of its staff redundant.
Gamasutra has reported that, in the wake of many of its top executives handing in their resignation, 37 percent of its employees will be let go under a restructuring plan.
CEO and President Darren Richardson, chairman Thomas Brown, senior VP of business affairs, corporate secretary and general counsel Whitney Peterson all left the company 24 hours before Mad Catz’s third quarter financials came out.
The figures were telling: while net sales for the third quarter of the 2016 financial year rose by 114% to US$65 million, operating income rose by 28% and the company’s gross margins for the quarter plunged to 17.5% from 26.9% from the same time last year.
The company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation for the first three quarters of fiscal 2016 (ending April) was US$1.276 million, 41% down from the same period the previous fiscal year.
Karen McGinnis, the new CEO and president of Mad Catz, said in the company’s results that quarterly net sales “were the second highest in the company’s history reflecting strong Rock Band 4 sales”. That helped offset a downturn in audio and PC peripherals, as well as a lower than expected sell-through of Rock Band 4. Increased promotions for Rock Band also resulted in lower margins for Mad Catz.
“Looking ahead, we are confident in our ability to further monetize our diverse range of products and are focused on updating and improving many of our product offerings to better leverage the opportunities we see ahead,” she added.
Comments
8 responses to “Mad Catz Shows More Than A Third Of Its Staff The Door”
Mad Catz reminds me of Logitech.
Indeed, they’re both capable of selling good products. However, they’re also both capable of producing the largest bargain bins of cheap and nasty crap that can’t last 48 hours of use.
I’m still burned from the crap quality n64 controllers they used to make.
Or have things changed and my worry is unwarranted nowadays ??
They made some pretty nice fightsticks a few years back for Street Fighter IV. Although their fightpads were crap.
But you’re right, they really should have focused more on high end / quality peripherals.
Yeah. Still regret selling my TE fightstick. It was really nice.
Those N64 controls where the first thing i thought of when i saw Mad Catz
Interesting timing, then, that EB currently has a big Rock Band 4 sale on…
$99 for the guitar bundle.
Madcatz, you’re disgusting. I hope making good people jobless ends up destroying your company.
So, you’re hoping that putting some people out of work ends up putting everyone out of work? And Madcatz is the disgusting one? 😛
I imagine that Rock Band 4 wasn’t a bonanza outside of the US with the prices of bundles being at Occulus levels of expenditure
If only Mad Catz has stock of the Street Fighter V fight sticks for sale since last year instead of hoarding inventory just to artificially push prices up, earnings wouldnt have been that bad this quarter. Now no one wants a PS4 fight stick thanks to Capcom implementing PS3 controller compatibility for SFV.