Electronic Arts announced their financial results for both the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2008 yesterday afternoon, with a mixture of positive and negative news. Thanks to titles like Army of Two, Burnout Paradise, and Rock Band, the company’s revenue was up 84% to $1.127 billion in the fourth quarter, with sales of $3.665 billion (up from $3.091 the previous year) posted for the entire fiscal year.
“A year ago, we committed to an aggressive change agenda at EA. Our employees stepped up to the challenge and we finished fiscal year 2008 with non-GAAP revenue up 30% to $4 billion – a record for any third-party publisher. Our operating margins were flat to our prior year. On balance, we’re very pleased with our revenue growth, but not yet happy with our profit margins,” said John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer. “In fiscal 2009, we expect to deliver another $1 billion in revenue growth and to double our operating profit on the strength of our slate of titles.”
Despite the sales increase, their annual profit outlook was short of what many Wall Street experts predicted causing shares in the company to fall 3.7 percent. Riccitiello cited the company’s desire for more quality games as the reason for the outlook, in what he says is a response to the gaming community’s “increasingly tepid” feedback to their products.
Tags: action, army of two, ea, financials, ps3, rock band, take-two, xbox 360
