Social gaming isn’t the moneymaking industry it once was, and Zynga embodies this.
Zynga lost 1 cent per share in the last quarter ending Sept. 30. That is right in line with Wall Street’s expectations. The company generated $175 million in revenue, which is down from $202 million over the same period in 2013. While the company continues to lose cash, it is seeing a growth in its mobile business that it could potentially turn into something bigger.
“I am encouraged by the results of the quarter as we navigate through this time of transition,” Zynga chief executive Don Mattrick said in a statement. “Our teams have been working hard over the last year to reshape our business, and we are seeing that work show up in two important areas — our franchise bookings and mobile bookings growth.”
Mattrick notes that Zynga’s core Casino, Words With Friends, and FarmVille franchises grew 30 percent year-over-year in terms of revenue. Overall, the publisher’s mobile gaming division crew by 111 percent in terms of cash generated.
Looking forward, Zynga is projecting to generate between $170 million and $200 million during its fourth quarter. It also expects a net loss somewhere between $51 million and $34 million.
The company is also expecting a net loss for its fiscal year between $231 million and $214 million.
“2014 has been an investment year for us as we assembled a new leadership team, reorganized the company, and reset our product pipeline,” said Mattrick. “As we move forward and aggressively compete in an exciting market, we continue to believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of our global scale and diversified product portfolio, and we remain committed to working together as a team to deliver long term value for our consumers, employees and shareholders.”
Zynga has struggled in recent years after setting off the social-gaming revolution. While the company could do no wrong after launching megahits like FarmVille, it has tried to shift to mobile — and without the same level of success.
The company has relied heavily on games like Zynga Poker, which is popular on mobile, to generate cash while trying to bring Facebook games to mobile. In 2014, Zynga launched FarmVille 2: Country Escape on iOS and Android, and it is the 33rd highest-grossing game on iOS in the United States.
But this is far behind the dominant mobile hits like Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans.