Take-Two beats Q2 expectations, still posts losses

Video game company Take-Two Interactive reported a better than expected loss for the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, which the company attributed to strong sales from its catalog of titles as well as more online distribution.

Take-Two’s net revenue for the quarter fell 56 percent to $107 million, compared to $245 million for the same quarter in 2011, which benefited from the releases of Mafia II and Sid Meier’s Civilization V and Red Dead Redemption.

Catalog sales — which accounted for 84 percent of overall revenue — were led by the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands, Sid Meier’s Civilization V, Midnight Club Los Angeles and NBA 2K11. New title sales were led by L.A. Noire, MLB 2K11, and Nicktoons MLB. Digital sales accounted for 25 percent of the overall revenue, led by in-game purchases from Grand Theft Auto, Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption and Sid Meier’s Civilization.

“Our second quarter results exceeded expectations, driven by strong demand for the company’s catalog offerings and digitally delivered add-on content that deepens the consumer experience,” said Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. “The second half of the year is off to a solid start with the launch of NBA 2K12, which received the highest ratings in the history of our industry-leading basketball series.”

On the subject of NBA 2K12, Zelnick did say that the NBA lockout has impacted sales of the title. “It’s not a positive impact but we’re well within the expectations of the title to date,” he said.

Looking ahead, the company is expecting revenues in the range of $1 billion to 1.1 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, and a non-GAAP diluted net income per share of 10 to 35 cents.