ERTS... penny above estimates. Electronic Arts Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal
1998 Results
SAN MATEO, Calif., May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS - news) today
announced its operating results for the fourth fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 1998.
Revenues for the fourth quarter increased 31 percent to $204,067,000 compared to $156,173,000
for the same period of the prior fiscal year. Net income for the quarter increased 45 percent to
$15,352,000 and earnings per share (diluted) increased 39 percent to $0.25. These results
compared to $10,617,000 and $0.18 earned in the same quarter last year.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998, revenues were $908,852,000, an increase of 35 percent,
compared to $673,028,000 reported last year. Net income for the year was $72,562,000, an
increase of 41 percent, compared to the $51,327,000 reported in fiscal 1997. Earnings per share
(diluted) increased 38 percent to $1.19 over the $0.86 reported for the comparable period of the
prior year.
During the fourth fiscal quarter, the Company released 15 new products on three different platforms.
New products shipped included six for the IBM PC-CD, eight for the PlayStation(R), and one for
the Sega Saturn(R). Top selling new titles released during the quarter included Need For Speed(TM)
III: Hot Pursuit, Triple Play 99, and March Madness(TM) 98 on the PlayStation, and Triple Play 99
and F-15 for IBM-compatible personal computers. Other best selling products in the quarter
included FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 on all platforms and NBA Live 98, Nascar(R) 98 and
Diablo(TM) on the PlayStation.
On a geographic basis, fourth quarter revenues in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific each
increased 59, 22 and eight percent, respectively, compared to the same quarter of the prior year
reflecting strong growth in the PlayStation market. Growth in the Asia Pacific region was partially
offset by a decline in Saturn related revenues as that platform continues to decline. Revenues in Japan
decreased 59 percent primarily due to a difficult comparison on the PlayStation from last year's
release of the hit product, Shin Theme Park(TM), and a decline in new products available for the
Sega Saturn and Nintendo(R) 64 platforms.
''This has been a banner year for the industry and for Electronic Arts in particular,'' said Larry
Probst, chairman and chief executive officer. ''During the year, we added significant new licenses
with Nascar, Tiger Woods and World Championship Wrestling. In addition, we grew our market
share in North America on the PlayStation to nearly 25 percent. In Europe we continued to have
leading market share in the UK and the number one property across all platforms with FIFA: Road
to the World Cup 98. The Maxis(TM) acquisition earlier this year will help to increase our market
share on the PC with the upcoming release of its flagship product, SimCity 3000(TM), this Fall. Our
recent joint ventures with Square Company, Ltd. of Japan creates a partnership with the leading
independent publisher in Japan which will not only strengthen our business in that market but also will
provide us with world-class products to distribute in North America. We believe that EA is
well-positioned with strong franchises and worldwide distribution in this expanding environment.''
The last paragraph of this release contains forward looking statements which are subject to certain
risks including those described in the Company's 1997 annual report and other documents filed with
the SEC.
NOTE: Electronic Arts, Maxis, Need for Speed, Theme Park and SimCity 3000 are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Electronic Arts or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Jane's, Nascar, March Madness, NFL, NBA and FIFA are trademarks of their respective
owners and are used under license. Diablo is a trademark of Davidson & Associates, Inc.
PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Sega and Sega Saturn
are registered trademarks of Sega. Nintendo is a registered trademark and Nintendo 64 is a
trademark of Nintendo of America, Inc. |
