Majesco Entertainment has announced a net loss of $7.2 million for its fiscal 2009 compared to a net income of $3.4 million for the same period in 2008.
For the fourth quarter ended October 31, 2009, Majesco’s net revenues increased 32.8 percent to $23.9 million versus $18.0 million in the same period a year ago. During the same period, the firm reported an operating loss of $5.5 million, compared to operating income of $0.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Non-GAAP operating loss was $5.0 million versus non-GAAP operating loss of $0.4 million in 2008. Net loss for the quarter was $4.5 million versus net income of $0.4 million in 2008. The operating and net loss figures include a $3.2 million charge for 2010 games that were “cancelled or impaired”.
Jesse Sutton, CEO, explained, “In 2009 we delivered a strong top line performance, exceeding our revenue guidance, despite a challenging economic environment and a difficult period for our industry overall. Our top line was driven by the Cooking Mama franchise, Jillian Michaels’ titles and strong distribution revenue.
However, we were disappointed in our inability to translate this strong growth to the bottom line. While our top titles performed well, and we successfully maintained costs and reduced marketing expenditures, we had a soft retail performance from new IP titles in the fourth quarter. Based on our experience this holiday season, and our view of the video game retail environment, we carefully reviewed our 2010 title slate and either cancelled or took impairment charges against a number of titles planned for release during 2010, primarily for Wii. This charge was approximately $3.2 million or $0.10 per share in the quarter.”
Sutton says that in 2010 the firm must translate its revenue into profitability. “We are taking a number of steps to better position the Company for 2010 and beyond. We are well capitalized and in that regard, in better financial position than we’ve been in recent years. We are looking to focus our resources on our best opportunities, publishing fewer, but stronger titles than we initially planned and driving additional efficiencies across our operations by reducing our cost structure.”