Finish of the news that I could find:
Aggressive Release Schedule Planned Over Next Twelve Months
ALAMEDA, Calif., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectrum HoloByte, Inc.
(Nasdaq NMS: SBYT), a worldwide interactive entertainment company, today
reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 1997.
The first quarter ended with net revenue of $13.6 million, and an
operating loss of $5.4 million, compared with net revenue of $13.1 million and
an operating loss of $5.8 million for the same period last year. The company
took an additional non-operating charge of $2.6 million to write down its
minority interest in the Total Entertainment Network. As a result, the net
loss for the first quarter was $8.3 million or $.30 per share, versus a net
loss of $1.5 million or $.07 per share in the first quarter last year.
Without the one-time charge, the net loss would have been $.20 per share.
Total operating expenses for the first quarter were $13.2 million,
compared with $13.9 million in the same quarter the previous year. First
quarter expenses were lower than the previous year largely due to lower bad
debt charges and severance costs. The company closed the quarter with
$41.2 million in cash and equivalents, up from $39.5 million a year ago.
Stephen M. Race, chief executive officer, said, "The entertainment
software business is seasonal, typically being slowest in the spring and
summer months. Our revenues in the June quarter were impacted by this
seasonality and by lower than anticipated initial orders for the one new
product we released during the quarter, Star Trek Generations(TM), although
shipments of Star Trek Generations have already exceeded 150,000 units
worldwide.
"Despite the slow period, we continue to generate value with two of our
most successful recent titles. Released in the spring and summer of last
year, and now both over one year old, Sid Meier's Civilization(R) II and Grand
Prix II had combined shipments of more than 120,000 units in the latest
quarter. That's the equivalent of releasing a new product. We believe that
the products we've released over the last several quarters, along with our
future products, will produce a strong back catalog for the future," he added.
The company is planning to release two new titles in the second fiscal
quarter. X-COM: Apocalypse(TM), which was released worldwide the week of July
14, has shipped more than 120,000 units and has charted as #2 in the United
Kingdom. The other new release planned for the second quarter is 7th
Legion(TM), a real-time, multiplayer, strategy game licensed from Epic
MegaGames.
Race stated that the company's goal is to launch as many as eight or nine
new product offerings in the latter half of the fiscal year. "The market
continues to be driven by expansions and sequels which is great news for us
because Spectrum HoloByte's strength has been the development of new brands
and the expansion of existing brands. We believe that there will be
significant penetration of MMX, 3D accelerators, and high speed Pentium
personal computers by the holiday season. We are creating and releasing
products which can take advantage of this new generation of computers," he
added.
Some of the key products under development for the next 5 to 6 quarters
include: Falcon(R) 4.0, MechWarrior(R) III, MechCommander(TM), European Air
War(TM), Guardians: Agents of Justice(TM), Star Trek First Contact(TM),
Starship Troopers(TM), M1 Tank Platoon(R) II, X-COM: Interceptor(TM), Star
Trek: Klingon Honor Guard(TM), MiG-29(TM), expansion disks for Magic: The
Gathering(R) including multiplayer and tournament capabilities, and updated
Civilization products.
Spectrum HoloByte is a leading developer and publisher of interactive
entertainment software for use on CD-ROM-based personal computer systems,
published under the MicroProse(R) brand name. The company also publishes
software for use on next generation 32/64-bit console machines, the Internet
and on-line gaming services. The company's five development studios are
located in: Alameda, California; Hunt Valley, Maryland; Chapel Hill, North
Carolina; Chipping Sodbury, England; and Austin, Texas. Products are
available nationally and internationally through major distributors,
retailers, mass merchants and on the company's World Wide Web:
microprose.com.
This document may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected. In particular, as with all software products, until all
aspects of the development and initial distribution of the company's games are
completed, there can be no assurance of product release dates. For a
discussion of additional factors that could cause actual results to differ,
please see the company's publicly available Securities and Exchange Commission
filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K dated March 31, 1997,
particularly the discussion of risk factors on pages 21 to 28 of that
document.
NOTE: STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of Paramount Pictures.
MAGIC: THE GATHERING is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
MechWarrior is a registered trademark and MechCommander is a trademark of FASA
Corporation. 7TH LEGION is a trademark of Epic MegaGames. STARSHIP TROOPERS
is a trademark of Tristar Pictures. Spectrum HoloByte is an authorized user
and official licensee of these marks. FALCON, MI TANK PLATOON, X-COM, SID
MEIER'S CIVILIZATION, and MICROPROSE are registered trademarks and EUROPEAN
AIR WAR, GUARDIANS: AGENTS OF JUSTICE, X-COM: INTERCEPTOR and X-COM:
APOCALYPSE are trademarks of Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)
June 30, March 31,
1997 1997
ASSETS (unaudited)
Current assets:
Cash and equivalents $41,163 $47,110
Accounts receivable, less
allowances of $5,984
and $6,568 5,134 7,891
Inventories 3,251 4,042
Prepaid royalties 4,400 2,139
Other current assets 1,281 1,958
Total current assets 55,229 63,140
Property and equipment, net 7,860 7,802
Investments 3,445 6,050
Other assets 2,787 3,313
$69,321 $80,305
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $2,669 $3,508
Salaries, wages and related
accruals 4,224 6,337
Royalties payable 1,578 1,840
Other current liabilities 7,529 7,122
Total current liabilities 16,000 18,807
Long-term debt 32,499 32,739
Other liabilities 1,382 1,280
Total liabilities 49,881 52,826
Redeemable preferred stock 5,881 5,881
Stockholders' equity 13,559 21,598
$69,321 $80,305
SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
June 30,
1997 1996
(unaudited)
Net revenue $13,580 $13,072
Cost of revenue 5,778 4,899
Gross profit 7,802 8,173
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing 4,181 4,582
General and administrative 3,173 3,672
Research and development 5,863 5,688
Total operating expenses 13,217 13,942
Operating loss (5,415) (5,769)
Other income (expense), net (2,897) 1,586
Net loss before
extraordinary item (8,312) (4,183)
Extraordinary item, net
of tax effect -- 2,668
Net loss $(8,312) $(1,515)
Per share data:
Net loss before extraordinary
item $(0.30) $(0.18)
Extraordinary item, net
of tax effect -- 0.11
Net loss per share $(0.30) $(0.07)
Shares used in per share
computations 28,304 24,384
SOURCE Spectrum HoloByte Inc.
CONTACT: Virginia Turner, Investor Relations of Spectrum HoloByte,
510-522-3584; or Howard Kalt of Kalt, Rosen & Associates 415-397-2686, for
Spectrum HoloByte |
