NEWS - Tuesday, March 1, 2005
Midway Sees Solid Q4
Midway Sees Solid Q4 February 28, 2005 - Midway Games today announced healthy earnings for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2004, with titles Mortal Kombat: Deception and Midway Arcade Treasures 2 selling strong for the holiday season. The company reports Q4 revenues of $77.2 million, up 156% from $30.1 million in last year's Q4. Midway's net income was $17.6 million, compared with a 2003's Q4 net loss of $27.8 million. Earnings for the full year also show the company standing strong over 2003. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, Midway's revenues were $161.6 million, up 75% from $92.5 million. This year saw a net loss of $19.9 million, much lower than $115.2 million in 2003. Midway's NBA Ballers, Mortal Kombat: Deception, and Midway Arcade Treasures all shipped more than a million units worldwide during Q4. The strong performance of these titles bolstered the company for the finish of 2004, giving Midway its first profitable quarter in years. "Our 2004 fourth quarter results cap a year of progress at Midway which has positively repositioned the Company for the future," commented Midway president and CEO David Zucker. "By focusing on improving our key operating functions such as product development and marketing, Midway produced much higher quality games and generated much better visibility and demand for our games in 2004." In a conference call today, Zucker predicted a strong 2005, with the company expanding into the kids games and PC markets. Midway has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3.0 for three titles, two for PC, and are preparing for next-generation console development -- though it does not expect to ship any next-gen titles in 2005. Zucker highlighted Midway's 2005 line-up, which includes Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, The Suffering: Ties that Bind, NARC, Area 51, and Unreal Championship 2. The company will also produce games based on two upcoming CGI films -- though the titles of the films and games remain unannounced.Source: http://www.ign.com
