Activision posts strong profit after record turnover

Publisher Activision closes its fiscal year 2008 with a small 350 million dollar profit. The publisher of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, among others, achieved a record turnover of just under three billion dollars.

The American company posted a net profit of $344.9 million between April 2007 and March 2008. The substantial profit is due to the record turnover of 2.9 billion dollars. This means Activision can look back on a year in which turnover almost doubled compared to fiscal year 2007, when the company recorded a turnover of 1.51 billion dollars. With this, the company has recorded growth in turnover for the sixteenth year in a row. Additionally, Activision grew its market share in console and handheld software in the United States by 7.2 percent to 17.3 percent, surpassing arch-rival Electronic Arts as the largest third-party publisher in America for the first time.

The driving force behind Activision’s good results can be found in two games: Guirar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty 4. The latter title has now sold nine million times worldwide, while Guitar Hero III was the highest turnover in 2007. scored of all games in America. Both franchises have sold more than a billion dollars in their existence.

Although the 2009 financial year, which started in April, will mainly be dominated by the merger between Activision and Vivendi, from which Activision Blizzard will arise, the publisher nevertheless expresses expectations for the new financial year. The publisher expects a new increase in turnover, with turnover exceeding three billion.