Take-Two Quarterlies Surge, GTAIV Hits 8.5 Million Sold

Grand Theft Auto IV

A game like Grand Theft Auto IV is the perfect cure-all for whatever ails a lagging company, as Take-Two has recently discovered.

According to GameSpot, Take-Two has issued their quarterly findings, and for the recent three-month period, Take-Two revenues skyrocketed by 162% in year-over-year comparisons, from $205.4 million in 2007 to $539.8 million this year. Net income went from $51.2 million to about $98.2 million, and all of these numbers vastly exceeded analyst expectations; an analyst survey only predicted total revenues of $322 million. Even more importantly, that good net profit came in spite of several major company expenses, including $12.4 million for "stock-based compensation" and $3.8 million in "professional fees and legal expenses, primarily related to Electronic Arts' unsolicited tender offer." By the way, EA's takeover bid was postponed yet again a couple days ago (the third time), and it's probably because EA's bid of $25.74/share is now below the actual Take-Two share price of $27.65.

The driving force behind all of this, of course, is GTAIV. As of May 31, the massive blockbuster has sold a ridiculous 8.5 million copies worldwide, with a total of 11 million units shipped to retailers. This is after the game broke all entertainment launch records, when Take-Two reported the game sold 6 million copies and generated over $500 million in its first week. All this being said, though, other Take-Two franchises aren't doing so hot. In fact, the publisher said: "we no longer anticipate reaching profitability in our 2K Sports business in fiscal 2008." That's unfortunate, but the Bioshock games ought to help a great deal...

Related Game(s): Grand Theft Auto IV

6/6/2008 Ben Dutka

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