Tuesday, February 3, 2015

'Grand Theft Auto' publisher Take-Two ups full-year profit forecast

Game enthusiasts purchase the latest release of ''Grand Theft Auto Five'' after the game went on sale at the Game Stop store in Encinitas, California September 17, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake



Game enthusiasts purchase the latest release of ''Grand Theft Auto Five'' after the game went on sale at the Game Stop store in Encinitas, California September 17, 2013.


Credit: /Mike Blake






- Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc raised its revenue and profit forecast for the full year and reported better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by the success of its "Grand Theft Auto V" game for new consoles.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive, which also publishes "BioShock Infinite", were up 6 percent at $31.70 in extended trading on Tuesday.


The latest console and PC versions of "Grand Theft Auto V", an action-adventure game in which players roam an urban landscape modeled on Los Angeles, was the fourth-most sold title in the United States last year, data research firm NPD said.


Take-Two said it now expects adjusted revenue of $1.65 billion-$1.70 billion for the year ending March 31, up from its previous forecast of $1.4 billion-$1.5 billion.


It also raised its adjusted profit per share forecast for the year to $1.65-$1.75 from $1.05-$1.30.


Analysts on average were expecting adjusted revenue of $1.52 billion and an adjusted profit of $1.38 per share, according to Thomson I/B/E/S.


Sales from the "Grand Theft Auto" series, basketball game "NBA 2K15" and the "Borderlands" first-person shooter game franchise raked in most of the revenue for Take-Two in the third quarter ended Dec. 31.


Adjusted revenue jumped 24.3 percent to $954 million, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $797.7 million.


Adjusted net income rose to $211.6 million, or $1.87 per share, for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, from $210.7 million, or $1.70 per share, a year earlier.


Analysts expected a profit of $1.52 per share.


(This version of the story was corrected to remove reference to PC versions of "Grand Theft Auto V" in the eighth paragraph)


No comments:

Post a Comment