14 DAY TRIAL // Activision Blizzard presented a very mixed earning report to share holders and the press. On the one hand, the publisher created revenue of 2.3 billion dollars in the period between October and December, which is better than analysts expected. On the other hand, the company posted a loss, for the same period, of no less than 72 million dollars.
The worrying element in all of this data is the fact that the loss came just as Activision Blizzard launched some of the biggest games of the year: the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft, Call of Duty: World at War and Guitar Hero: World Tour. Given these games, analysts are worried about how Activision Blizzard would perform in a quarter with less high profile releases.
Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, stated for Reuters that “We won't be distracted by layoffs and restructuring and things that other companies are going to be distracted with. We don't respond to managing our operating expenses because there's a financial crisis, we do it all the time.”
After the results were presented by Activision Blizzard, the shares traded on the stock exchange tumbled down, going down more than 5%. It seems that even the biggest publisher in the world, when it comes to videogames, cannot escape the lack of trust in companies generated by the word wide economic crisis.
Thomas Tippl, who is the Chief Financial Officer of Activision Blizzard, believes that “a long, challenging economic environment may provide acquisition opportunities due to strong cash position.” In other words, Activision Blizzard hopes to see opportunities to snap up some development studios and even franchises as other companies encounter difficulties.
Activision stated that it would get 4.2 billion dollars in the full 2009 calendar year. It has toned down the results it expects by some 600 million dollars, following the strengthening of the United States dollar and the delay of some titles that were said to come in 2009.