For the quarter ended June 30, 2014,
Activision Blizzard’s GAAP net revenues were $970 million, as compared with $1.05 billion for the second quarter of 2013. On a non-GAAP basis, the company’s net revenues were $658 million, as compared with $608 million for the second quarter of 2013. For the second quarter of 2014, GAAP net revenues from digital channels represented 49% of the company’s total revenues. On a non-GAAP basis, net revenues from digital channels represented a record 73% of the company’s total revenues.
For the quarters ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, Activision Blizzard’s GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.28. On a non-GAAP basis, the company’s earnings per diluted share were $0.06 for the second quarter of 2014, as compared with $0.08 for the second quarter of 2013.
The company reports results on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. Please refer to the tables at the back of this press release for a reconciliation of the company’s GAAP and non-GAAP results.
Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, said, “Our better-than expected performance was driven by continued strong digital sales from Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, Diablo® III: Reaper of Souls™ and Blizzard Entertainment’s newest franchise, Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™, which recently launched on the iPad and continues to be well received by audiences around the world, as well as digital sales from Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty®. Based on our results, we are raising our full-year outlook and we expect to grow our non-GAAP revenues year-over-year and deliver record non-GAAP earnings per share for the full year.”
Kotick added, ”Over the next few months we expect to release some of the very best games in our company’s history. Blizzard Entertainment plans to launch World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor™, the newest expansion in the epic franchise, which more than 1.5 million Western subscribers have already pre-purchased and Activision Publishing expects to release Destiny™, which we believe will be the largest new intellectual property launch in videogame history, as well as Skylanders Trap Team™ and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Kotick continued, “Today, we have more opportunities to create great content using new platforms and business models while also expanding into new geographies, and are embracing all of these growth opportunities with the same commitment to excellence that we have demonstrated over the past 23 years. As the world’s largest and most profitable independent interactive entertainment company, we remain focused on creating the most compelling, engaging games for our dedicated audiences and providing superior returns for our shareholders.”
Selected Business Highlights:
- Life to date, Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty: Ghosts remained the #1 best-selling game on the next-generation consoles in North America and Europe combined.¹
- In North America and Europe combined, for the first six months of 2014, Activision Publishing’s Skylanders SWAP Force™ was the #2 best-selling console and handheld game overall in dollars, and in North America, Skylanders SWAP Force outsold the #1 action figure line.²
- As of June 30, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo III: Reaper of Souls remained the #1 PC game in dollars in both North America and Europe and, including its expansion and digital sales, Diablo III has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide across all platforms since its release in 2012.³
- As of June 30, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft remains the #1 subscription-based MMORPG, with approximately 6.8 million subscribers.⁴ There was a decline in subscribers quarter over quarter, which was disproportionately concentrated in the East and was similar to the seasonal decline experienced during the second quarter of 2012, prior to the launch of the most recent expansion later that year.
- On July 15, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase, Inc. jointly announced an agreement to license Blizzard Entertainment's award-winning action role-playing game, Diablo III, to a NetEase, Inc. affiliate in mainland China.
- During the quarter, Activision Blizzard paid its highest dividend ever of $0.20 per common share, totaling $147 million.
Company Outlook:
Today, Activision Publishing released Call of Duty: Ghosts Nemesis, a downloadable content pack exclusively on Xbox Live for both Xbox One and Xbox 360®. The company expects to release Call of Duty: Ghosts Nemesis on other platforms later in the third quarter of 2014.
Additionally, on September 9, 2014, Activision Publishing plans to release Bungie’s highly anticipated game, Destiny, for Sony’s PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 and Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox 360. Preorders for the game are tracking towards an industry record for a new intellectual property.
Earlier this quarter, Blizzard Entertainment released Curse of Naxxramas™: A Hearthstone Adventure for Windows, Mac and iPad. On August 19, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment also expects to release Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition™ for Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Based on its second quarter results, Activision Blizzard is raising its full year outlook. The company’s third quarter and full year net revenue and earnings per share outlook are as follows:
