RNS Number:0340Q
SCI Entertainment Group PLC
24 January 2007
24 January 2007
SCi Entertainment Group Plc
('SCi' or 'the Group')
Trading Update
The Board of SCi Entertainment Group Plc, the UK's leading video and computer
games publisher, is pleased to announce
that the Group has traded in line with expectations in the first six months of
the financial year, to 31 December 2006.
Revenue in the six months to 31 December 2006
Revenue in the six months to 31 December 2006 is expected to exceed £70 million,
a 40% increase on revenue in the
corresponding period to 31 December 2005 (£50.1 million). The majority of the
increase in revenue arose from the
distribution of products, particularly Justice League Heroes and continued sales
of Lego Star Wars.
As in prior years, the major portion of the Group's product releases and
revenues arise in the second half of the
financial year. The Group has therefore not revised its internal budget for the
financial year as a whole. As in the
2006 financial year our internal budget plans a loss in the first half followed
by a profit for the full year.
New product releases
New product releases accounted for approximately 50% of revenues for the period
to 30 December 2006.
In the six months to 31 December 2006 the Group's most successful new product
launch was Just Cause. Just Cause was
released in September 2006 and immediately entered the UK charts at No 1 in the
Microsoft Xbox 360 charts and No 2 in
the All Formats charts. We now expect Just Cause to sell over one million units
in the current financial year. The
sequel to Just Cause is in development.
The Group also released Reservoir Dogs, Bionicle Heroes, Who Wants to be a
Millionaire? and the PC version of
Championship Manager 2006/7.
Distribution and back catalogue income
Approximately one third of revenue for the first half arose from the
distribution of third party titles. Lego Star
Wars, first launched in April 2005, continued to sell strongly. We have now
sold over 5.4 million units of Lego Star
Wars. In addition we released Justice League Heroes in November 2006. This
title has performed strongly and we now
expect sales to exceed one million units in the current financial year.
The balance of revenue in the first half arose from sales of back catalogue
product, including further sales of Tomb
Raider Legend and Hitman Blood Money previously launched in the 2006 financial
year. Platinum versions of these
products will be launched in the second half of the financial year.
Future plans and platform strategy
As in previous years the major portion of the Group's revenues for the 2007
financial year will arise in the second
half.
Our second half release schedule will include Tomb Raider Anniversary which
celebrates 10 years of Lara Croft and Tomb
Raider. Tomb Raider Anniversary will be released on Playstation 2, PSP and PC
in April 2007.
Our second half releases include a growing number of products aimed at the
casual and family market. These products
include Pony Friends, Zendoku, Diner Dash, Prism: Light the Way, Ora: Use Your
Emotion and PC versions of six classic
casual games including Luxor: Amun Rising, Jewel Quest and Cubis 2.
Following the success of Just Cause on the Microsoft 360 platform, we will
launch Battlestations Midway on the 360 (as
well as a PC version) in February 2007.
In Spring 2007 we plan to launch our first titles on the successful Nintendo Wii
platform. These titles will include
Bionicle Heroes.
Our future next generation console titles include new versions of Tomb Raider,
Hitman and Championship Manager plus
exciting new IPs including Kane & Lynch and Crossfire. In the light of the
launch of the Sony Playstation 3 in North
America in November 2006 and its planned European launch in Spring 2007 we are
assessing the timing of when to launch
these titles on the appropriate next generation platforms.
We are very pleased to be distributing the PC version of the forthcoming
Massively Multiplayer On line title Age of
Conan. We expect this title to be released during 2007, with future updates.
Partnership with Warner Bros.
Part of the Group's strategy is to publish a wider range of titles to match the
broadening demographics of games buyers.
In line with this strategy, On 15 January 2007 shareholders approved the
resolution necessary to complete the agreements
with Warner Bros announced on 15 December 2006. Accordingly;
1. Time Warner will subscribe for new shares representing 10.3% of the enlarged
share capital of the Group. Admission
of these shares is expected to take place in March 2007.
2. SCi will license the interactive rights to a number of Warner Bros
intellectual properties including Batman, Looney
Tunes and properties from the Hanna Barbera catalogue.
3. Warner Bros will provide certain primary distribution services to Eidos in
North America.
These agreements strengthen our relationship with one of the world's largest
media companies. The proceeds from the
share subscription will be invested into further growth opportunities including
expansion of our product pipeline,
building further development capacity in low cost locations such as Canada and
China and expansion of our New Media and
Casual Games divisions. We expect returns from this investment to benefit the
2008 financial year onwards.
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For further enquiries:
SCi Entertainment Group
Jane Cavanagh - CEO 020 8636 3000
Rob Murphy - CFO 020 8636 3000
Madano Partnership
Matthew Moth/Mark Way 020 7593 4000
About SCi Entertainment Group
SCi Entertainment Group is one of the world's leading publishers and developers
of entertainment software. Its
publishing label is Eidos which consists of publishing operations across Europe
and the US and several development
studios including Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios,
Eidos Studios Hungary, Eidos Sweden and
Pivotal Games. The Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual
property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus
Ex, Championship Manager, Carmageddon, the Conflict series and Just Cause.
Some of the titles currently in development include: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men,
Crossfire, Battlestations: Midway, Chili
Con Carnage and Highlander.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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