Midway Games today issued a
press release detailing their revenues of the first quarter of 2004, showing a loss of $14.3 million, as compared with a $9.3 million first quarter loss compared to 2003. From the press release:
Revenues for the 2004 first quarter were $20.1 million, down from $45.8 million in the 2003 first quarter. The 2004 first quarter net loss was $14.2 million, compared with a 2003 first quarter net loss of $9.3 million. The 2004 first quarter loss applicable to common stock was $15.0 million or $0.27 per share, compared with a 2003 first quarter loss applicable to common stock of $9.6 million or $0.21 per share. Revenues for the first quarter were higher than the Companyâs updated guidance provided on April 6, 2004 primarily due to continued strong sales of The Suffering, which launched March 8, 2004.
...
âWe are pleased with the results of the first quarter and in particular with the product development and marketing achievements accomplished in the launch of The Suffering. Furthermore, we believe our acquisition of Surreal Software, developer of The Suffering, will increase our internal product development depth thereby strengthening our capacity for creating more high-quality videogames,â? commented president and chief executive officer David F. Zucker.
The press release also gave a forecast of Midway's 2004 outlook.
For the quarter ending June 30, 2004, the Company expects revenues of approximately $38.0 million with a net loss of approximately $10.0 million. Midway released NBA Ballers in North America on April 5, 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox and has shipped a total of over 600,000 units to date on the two platforms. The Company expects to release two additional titles in North America during the balance of the 2004 second quarter: MLB SlugFest: Loaded and Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy both for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The Company also expects to release The Suffering in Europe during the second quarter for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
âWe believe the successful launches of The Suffering and NBA Ballers are solid evidence that our strategy of focusing on fewer, bigger and better titles is paying off and that changes to our operating processes and personnel are yielding results,â? commented Mr. Zucker.
For the year ending December 31, 2004, Midway is raising its outlook for revenues to approximately $148.0 million, representing a 60% increase over the 2003 revenue levels. The Company also revised its outlook for a net loss of approximately $18.0 million for the year, an approximately $97.2 million improvement versus 2003. The Company previously expected revenues of approximately $140.0 million and a net loss of approximately $20.0 million in 2004.
In a related article,
IGN and
GameSpot are both reporting that
Viacom CEO
Summer Redstone has announced his intentions to buy a controlling interest in Midway. From the GameSpot article:
However, Midway officials couldn't put a positive spin on what happened after their announcement. The company's stock lost 9.8 percent of its value ($0.95) after Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone announced his intention to buy a controlling stake in the company. Currently, Redstone's National Amusements company owns 49.3 percent of Midway's stock, and, according to papers filed with the SEC, he plans on increasing that to "at least" 60 percent.
Speaking to Reuters at a conference, Redstone implied he had big plans for the publisher. "You will see very soon an enormous infusion of great creative talent to Midway--and I mean very soon," he said. Redstone also his interest and investment in Midway was purely personal. "I do not look at this as a Viacom agenda," he said.
As we learn more about this breaking story, we will report on it. To read the Midway press release in its entirety, click
here. (
Adobe Acrobat Reader may be required to view this file.) To read the IGN article in its entirety, click
here. To read the GameSpot article in its entirety, click
here.
Our thanks to forum members
ScorpionKing2003,
buterbals113085, and
ShingoEX for the heads-up on this story!