REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Dec 09, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that it expects net
revenue and earnings per share for fiscal year 2009 to be below the
financial guidance previously provided on October 30, 2008. The revised
expectations are primarily the result of lower than expected sales
across North America and Europe. The Company does not expect to
provide updated financial guidance for fiscal 2009 prior to reporting
its third quarter results in early February 2009.
The Company is continuing to pursue cost saving initiatives including a
reduction of its product portfolio for fiscal year 2010 with additional
associated headcount reductions and facility consolidations.
"While we saw significant improvement in the overall quality of our key
products this year, we are disappointed that our holiday slate is not
meeting our sales expectations," said John Riccitiello, Chief Executive
Officer. "Given this performance and the uncertain economic environment,
we are taking steps to reduce our cost structure and improve the
profitability of our business."
Mr. Riccitiello added, "While we are cutting costs, we remain committed
to investing in great game quality, in new properties and in our
direct-to-consumer initiatives. We will be launching several new titles
and online games in fiscal 2010."
Conference Call
Electronic Arts will host a conference call today, December 9, 2008 at
2:00 pm PT (5:00 pm ET) to discuss the information contained in this
press release. Participants may access the conference call live through
a dial-in number or via webcast (http://investor.ea.com).
The live dial-in number is 877-857-6176, access code 220497. A dial-in
replay of the conference call will be available until December 16, 2008
at 719-457-0820, access code 220497. A webcast replay of the conference
call will be available at http://investor.ea.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded
in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle (TM) and POGO(TM). In
fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27
titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online
game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, and POGO are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other
countries.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements set forth in this press release, including Electronic
Arts' estimates of its financial performance and cost-saving
initiatives, are forward-looking statements and are subject to change.
Statements including words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate",
"expect" or "it is likely" and statements in the future tense are
forward-looking statements.These forward-looking statements are
preliminary estimates and expectations based on current information and
are subject to business and economic risks that could cause actual
future results to differ materially from the Company's expectations set
forth above.Some of the factors which could cause the Company's
results to differ materially from its expectations include the
following: sales of the Company's titles during the remainder of the
quarter and fiscal year; the general health of the U.S. and global
economy and the related impact on discretionary consumer spending;
consumer spending trends; the Company's ability to manage expenses
during the remainder of the quarter, fiscal year and beyond; competition
in the interactive entertainment industry; the effectiveness of the
Company's sales and marketing programs; timely development and release
of Electronic Arts' products; the Company's ability to successfully
implement its cost reduction plans; the consumer demand for, and the
availability of an adequate supply of console hardware units (including
the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system, the PLAYSTATION(R)3
computer entertainment system and the Wii(TM)); consumer demand for
software for the PlayStation 2; the Company's ability to predict
consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms; the financial
impact of potential future acquisitions by EA; the Company's ability to
realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions; consumer spending
trends; the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game
segment; the Company's ability to attract and retain key personnel;
changes in the Company's effective tax rates; the performance of
strategic investments; adoption of new accounting regulations and
standards; potential regulation of the Company's products in key
territories; developments in the law regarding protection of the
Company's products; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; the
Company's ability to secure licenses to valuable entertainment
properties on favorable terms; and other factors described in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2008
and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2008. These forward-looking statements speak only as of December 9,
2008. Electronic Arts disclaims any obligation, and does not intend to,
update these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Tricia Gugler, 650-628-7327
VP, Investor Relations
tgugler@ea.com
Jeff Brown, 650-628-7922
VP, Corporate Communications
jbrown@ea.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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