14 DAY TRIAL // As a subsidiary of French giant Infogrames, US publisher Atari has announced its financial results for the fiscal 2007 first quarter ended June 30, 2006, showcasing reduced revenue, but also a reduced loss thanks to its recent IP sales. The later years have not been kind to the veteran game publisher, as Atari recently sold off a number of exclusive video game franchises including Driver, Stuntman and Timeshift to cover the said losses.
Atari sent out a press release confirming that its stock has been receiving bad responses from the NASDAQ and it's currently eligible for delisting. As part of the deal with the global market, Atari's filed to meet expectations when stock price was not maintained above a $1 per share for quite some time. Although it's out of compliance with the NASDAQ stock market's rule, Atari appears to be set on fight any attempts to delist it from the market. Considering the company's lasting financial indisposition, this could prove a powerful blow were it to come to pass.
Atari explained that "unless the bid price of our common stock closed at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days prior to August 30, 2006, the common stock would be subject to delisting. The price of the common stock did not reach that level." As a side note, shares are currently listed at $0.69. The publisher requested a hearing before the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel, thus it will remain listed on The NASDAQ Global Market until the Panel issues its decision. The hearing has not been dated as of yet, but Atari expects it to be held in approximately 25 to 45 days.