Activision in the Money But Still No Buyer
Third quarter financials look good for Kotick and crew with the help of the IRS and a tax payment
The tug of love between Vivendi, which owns Activision, and the management of Activision in the form of Robert Kotick who would like to own it took another turn today as the Call of Duty company boasted "Better-Than-Expected Third Quarter 2012 Financial Results".
Activision/Blizzard's results come in the lead up to the release of what it will inevitably call the biggest entertainment launch in history in the form of Blops II (or Call of Duty: Black Ops 2) on November 13th.
It states that, "For the quarter ended September 30, 2012, the company delivered record GAAP net revenues of $841 million, as compared with $754 million for the third quarter of 2011..."
Hidden away in the statement was the fact that these "better than expected earnings" is "a one-time tax benefit of $46 million... resulting from the closure of an IRS audit related to pre-merger net operating losses from Vivendi Games." So, $46mill of non-games related earnings.
All good stuff for stockholders and all the working stiffs who make the company so profitable and will therefore obviously get bonuses and not be laid off later(right?).
However, as with Electronic Arts' recent bad news to High Street retail, ActiBlizz also states that, "For the third-quarter, GAAP net revenues from digital channels were $430 million and represented 51% of the company’s total net revenues."
For his part, Robert "Bobby" Kotick, Chief Executive Officer, Activision Blizzard, said, “Our unyielding commitment to excellence, the strength of our employees around the globe and our focus on creating great entertainment experiences have enabled us to once again deliver better-than expected financial results."
Also the $46million tax payment from the IRS Bob. He continued, "We have, for the third straight year, generated over $1 billion of operating cash flow for the trailing twelve month period ending September 30.
Our performance was driven by the launch of Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria and continued sales of its top-selling PC game, Diablo III, as well as Activision Publishing’s new entertainment property, Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure®, and sales of titles in the Call of Duty® franchise. Based on our strong third-quarter performance and increased visibility into the remainder of the year, we are raising our full-year financial outlook and expect to deliver record non-GAAP operating margins and the highest nonGAAP earnings per share in our company’s history. We now expect non-GAAP earnings per share will increase more than 18% year over year.”
He also praised Skylanders Giants saying that it " is off to a great start".
As for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, well Bobby believes, that it "will be one of the most successful launches of any form of entertainment in history.”
In terms of 2013, Kotick rubs his crystal balls and says, "As we look to 2013, we are cautious about business prospects given a continuingly challenged global economy, the ongoing console transition and very difficult year-over-year comparables due to Blizzard’s record-shattering Diablo III sales in 2012. We expect that over the long-term, we will maintain our leadership position as the world’s leading interactive entertainment company and continue to provide strong returns to our shareholders by delivering great games to audiences around the world.”
Still, no one wants to buy the company for some reason...
Activision/Blizzard's results come in the lead up to the release of what it will inevitably call the biggest entertainment launch in history in the form of Blops II (or Call of Duty: Black Ops 2) on November 13th.
It states that, "For the quarter ended September 30, 2012, the company delivered record GAAP net revenues of $841 million, as compared with $754 million for the third quarter of 2011..."
Hidden away in the statement was the fact that these "better than expected earnings" is "a one-time tax benefit of $46 million... resulting from the closure of an IRS audit related to pre-merger net operating losses from Vivendi Games." So, $46mill of non-games related earnings.
All good stuff for stockholders and all the working stiffs who make the company so profitable and will therefore obviously get bonuses and not be laid off later(right?).
However, as with Electronic Arts' recent bad news to High Street retail, ActiBlizz also states that, "For the third-quarter, GAAP net revenues from digital channels were $430 million and represented 51% of the company’s total net revenues."
For his part, Robert "Bobby" Kotick, Chief Executive Officer, Activision Blizzard, said, “Our unyielding commitment to excellence, the strength of our employees around the globe and our focus on creating great entertainment experiences have enabled us to once again deliver better-than expected financial results."
Also the $46million tax payment from the IRS Bob. He continued, "We have, for the third straight year, generated over $1 billion of operating cash flow for the trailing twelve month period ending September 30.
Our performance was driven by the launch of Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria and continued sales of its top-selling PC game, Diablo III, as well as Activision Publishing’s new entertainment property, Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure®, and sales of titles in the Call of Duty® franchise. Based on our strong third-quarter performance and increased visibility into the remainder of the year, we are raising our full-year financial outlook and expect to deliver record non-GAAP operating margins and the highest nonGAAP earnings per share in our company’s history. We now expect non-GAAP earnings per share will increase more than 18% year over year.”
He also praised Skylanders Giants saying that it " is off to a great start".
As for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, well Bobby believes, that it "will be one of the most successful launches of any form of entertainment in history.”
In terms of 2013, Kotick rubs his crystal balls and says, "As we look to 2013, we are cautious about business prospects given a continuingly challenged global economy, the ongoing console transition and very difficult year-over-year comparables due to Blizzard’s record-shattering Diablo III sales in 2012. We expect that over the long-term, we will maintain our leadership position as the world’s leading interactive entertainment company and continue to provide strong returns to our shareholders by delivering great games to audiences around the world.”
Still, no one wants to buy the company for some reason...
Companies:
Activision Blizzard
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