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Take-Two Surges In Second Quarter, Spent $US 5.3 Million Fighting EA
Posted by Leigh Alexander at 6:40 AM on June 6, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV's all-time record-breaking launch drove Take-Two to $US 98.2 million in profits during its fiscal second quarter, the company announced today. This represents exponential year-over-year growth for Take-Two, who saw a loss of $US 51.2 million during the same period of 2007.
The company more than doubled its net revenues for the quarter, reporting $US 539.8 million as compared with $US 205.4 million in the second quarter of 2007, even while the company spent $US 12.4 million on the stock-based compensation plan it recently approved for its Board.
Notably, results also reveal that Take-Two has spent a total of $US 5.3 million in legal fees over the last six months, the lion's share of which have been spent fending off Electronic Arts' acquisition bid.
As for BioShock, which now heads for both the PlayStation 3 and the movie theatres, Take-Two said it has shipped 2.2 million units to date.
Board chairman Strauss Zelnick emphasised the company's overall value:
"Take-Two's performance has exceeded expectations through the first half of fiscal 2008, clearly demonstrating the creative, operational and financial strength of our business," Zelnick said. "Our results reflected the extraordinary success of Grand Theft Auto IV, the value of our catalogue of titles, and our ongoing initiatives to improve the efficiency of our operations.
"We look forward to continuing to enhance stockholder value by building on our broad portfolio of internally developed and owned interactive entertainment brands, leveraging the opportunities in the current industry cycle, and operating our business in an effective manner."
Zelnick's statement on "continuing to enhance stockholder value" seems to indicate he has no immediate plans to yield to EA's bid.
Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two, added, "Based on the Company's stronger than expected results, we have increased our financial guidance for fiscal 2008 and are confident in our ability to continue to perform for the balance of the year. Furthermore, Take-Two is extremely well positioned in an industry that is experiencing explosive growth. We believe that our exceptional creative talent, diverse range of hit products, and the proven global demand for our titles will be the drivers of increasing value over time."
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
cdammers
Posted 7:13 AM 6/6/08
So, given that Take Two's financials are considerably better than EA's, maybe they should be taking EA over.
cdammers
Komrade_Kayce
Posted 7:13 AM 6/6/08
That was a well spent 5.3 million.
Just think, if the merger had happened, Bioshock on PS3 would have been 10-15 frames per second. And be out right now, instead of being worked on and tuned.
Komrade_Kayce
yashichi8bit
Posted 7:12 AM 6/6/08
"let me emphasized the company's overall value"
- Strauss Zelnick
yashichi8bit
sir_carrot
Posted 7:09 AM 6/6/08
Heh. It's a good thing they fought that. It's disgusting how all the big companies are trying to eat each other right now.
What happens once they do?
A serious, drab limit to creativity, that's what.
shudder...
sir_carrot
interstate78
Posted 7:05 AM 6/6/08
If there's a God, he will somehow NEVER allow an EA-Take2 merger.
interstate78
jun581
Posted 6:50 AM 6/6/08
@akashhhhh: Yea i thought it was more like 3-4 million. Oh well, i haven't gotten a change to complete it. I'll wait till the PS3 version come out in the fall.
jun581
jun581
Posted 6:49 AM 6/6/08
@Krondonian: good point. I had forgotten they were small but fucking great.
jun581
akashhhhh
Posted 6:49 AM 6/6/08
On Bioshock, 2.2 million seems a little on the low side to me. Given the voracious appetite of 360 gamers (please see attach rate) and the fact it was a 360 and PC release.
I wonder how much this number will jump on PS3. Not much, I don't think.
akashhhhh
Krondonian
Posted 6:48 AM 6/6/08
@jun581: If I owned Westwood, Bullfrog, Origin Systems...
I don't think this conglomerating of big companies would, could, ever help creativity to be honest.
Go Take Two, run for hills!
Krondonian
archibaldleech
Posted 6:45 AM 6/6/08
Aww, too bad. And here I was thinking EA Traxxx would've really improved GTA. Oh, well. We can dream. *headbangs to buttrock*
archibaldleech
Raziel Dune
Posted 6:44 AM 6/6/08
Kick Some Ass Take Two.
Raziel Dune
jun581
Posted 6:42 AM 6/6/08
Damn, 5.3 millions to fight the man. Sheesh, if I owned a little company, i would have no chance!!
jun581
nonpareil
Posted 6:41 AM 6/6/08
Ah, the unparalleled joys of those who bought shares when TTWO was at 15.
nonpareil
rockinthestocks
Posted 8:25 AM 6/6/08
@Techguy: Take2 has new management now and a solid 2009 release schedule.
rockinthestocks
Techguy1138
Posted 8:17 AM 6/6/08
@cdammers:
This is new territory for TTWO. When ever they come close to making a profit and keeping it they cock it up.
If it wasn't for the EA offer of a hostile takeover now would be the time to short TTWO
Techguy1138
J-Fro
Posted 9:03 AM 6/6/08
Impossible! No company that size has a cloaking device.
J-Fro
Messer
Posted 10:42 AM 6/6/08
No where to go but down for them. Time to short.
Messer
Skull_Leader
Posted 12:26 PM 6/6/08
LOL - nice choice in picking the image to go along with this article.
Skull_Leader
Purple Dave
Posted 6:33 PM 6/6/08
So...does EA even want them anymore? It seems pretty clear that they wanted to pick them up for cheap earlier so they could stand in the way of the mad profits coming in from the GTA4 release, but now that ship has sailed and they don't really have any highly anticipated titles on the horizon.
Purple Dave
GC-Tres
Posted 6:48 AM 6/6/08
Bioshock and GTA4 are two examples of how games should be made. Glad to see that companies who go for quality are making a profit out of it.
GC-Tres