Midway Games Inc. has announced results of operations for the three month period ended September 30, 2007. The company also updated its full year revenue and earnings guidance and provided revenue and earnings guidance for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2007.
Nett revenues for the 2007 third quarter were US$36.7 million, compared to the 2006 third quarter nett revenues of $27.4 million. The 2007 third quarter nett loss was $33.5 million, compared with a 2006 third quarter nett loss of $22.2 million, or a loss of $0.24 per basic and diluted share.
On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the impact of stock-option expenses and certain non-cash items, the 2007 third quarter loss was $28.0 million. For the 2006 third quarter, on a non-GAAP basis, the company had a loss of $20.3 million.
Recent operating highlights include:
- * Midway released Stranglehold for Xbox 360 and PC worldwide, which was a top-10 selling Xbox 360 game in the UK for the five weeks following launch according to Chart Track, as well as a top-10 selling Xbox 360 title in North America for the month of September according to The NPD Group. With the shipment of Stranglehold for the PS3 in North America on October 29, 2007, Midway has now exceeded 1 million units shipped worldwide on all platforms. Midway expects to ship Stranglehold for the PS3 in PAL regions later this month.
* Midway, in conjunction with developer Epic Games, recently released a demo of Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC, which has remained one of the top two most downloaded games on FilePlanet.com since it was released on October 12th.
David F. Zucker, president and chief executive officer, commented, "We are happy with the response to our first front-line next generation game, Stranglehold, and believe that it has provided a solid foundation to build our standardised toolset for all of our next generation titles. Additionally, our commitment to our expanded direct presence in Europe has been validated with strong results for Stranglehold throughout the territory."
During the fourth quarter, the Company has released Stranglehold for the PS3 in North America, Cocoto Racing for the DS in Europe, and The Bee Game for the GBA and DS in North America. Later this quarter, Midway expects to release worldwide Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC, BlackSite: Area 51 for Xbox 360 and PC, Ultimate Mortal Kombat for the DS, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am for the PS2; in North America BlackSite: Area 51 for the PS3, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends for the DS, and Game Party and Cruis'n' for the Wii; and in Europe Stranglehold for the PS3 and Hour of Victory for the PC.
Midway is lowering its financial outlook for the full year 2007 primarily to reflect the movement of certain Nintendo Wii and DS titles out of this fiscal year, mainly in the PAL territories, as well as lower expectations for PS3 product sales due to delayed release dates resulting in shorter holiday selling periods.
Mr. Zucker concluded, "We remain confident that our technology strategy and product plan position us to grow both revenue and market share as we move into the heart of this console cycle. In the coming months, as we reveal more details on our strong line-up of new IP and major franchises for 2008, we expect to show investors how we plan to realize significant growth in 2008."
