Publisher Take-Two is in a strong position after the release of Boderlands 2, NBA 2K13, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
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“Take-Two’s positive business momentum continued in the third quarter, enabling us to deliver growth and profits that exceeded our outlook,” Take-Two chief executive officer Strauss Zelnick said in a statment. “Our results benefited from the record-breaking launch of NBA 2K13, along with continued strong demand for Borderlands 2, the successful launch of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and robust holiday sales of our catalog and growing portfolio of digitally delivered offerings. With consumer anticipation building for the launches of BioShock Infinite and Grand Theft Auto V, we are well positioned for a solid finish to fiscal year 2013 and substantial revenue and earnings growth in fiscal year 2014.”
BioShock Infinite is set for a March 26 release for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, and is the last major release for Take-Two’s fiscal 2013. The publisher recently announced that Grand Theft Auto V will debut on Sept. 17, which puts it in to the companie’s second quarter of fiscal 2014.
The company has $448.7 million on hand, and it may begin using that to repurchase its own stock. This could raise the average value of Take-Two stock.
“I am also pleased to report that our board of directors has authorized the company to return capital to shareholders through the repurchase of its common stock,” said Zelnick. “Given our strong balance sheet and favorable business outlook in both the short and long-term, we have ample capital to pursue a variety of investment opportunities.”
In its conference calls with investors, Take-Two revealed that NBA 2K13 sold 4.5 million copies since its launch.
Borderlands 2 was the companies biggest driver of digital sales. That game sold more than 6 million units before producing any sales with DLC.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which was a bit of a bet considering it’s a turn-based strategy game, is “a commercial success” according to Zelnick. It produced particularly high digital sales, but Take-Two has yet to reveal sales numbers.