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New Battlefield Drives EA Q1 Sales

Strong sales for Battlefield: Bad Company, UEFA EURO 2008 and Rock Band boost sales, narrow losses.

For the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, Redwood City-based Electronic Arts posted increased sales and a narrower net loss on the back of the new Battlefield game, the company said Tuesday.

Battlefield: Bad Company, released in late June, sold 1.6 million copies across PS3 and Xbox 360, helping drive quarterly revenue of $804 million, up from $395 million for the prior year.

Other top sellers were UEFA EURO 2008 and Rock Band.

Operating loss was $97 million compared to an operating loss of $183 million a year ago.

Net loss for the period was $95 million, less than the $132 million posted a year ago, beating the $111 million loss estimate from a Thomson Financial analyst poll.

Trailing twelve-month operating cash flow was $239 million versus $243 million a year prior.

"We are now seeing the early returns of the change agenda we started last year," said EA CEO John Riccitiello in a statement. "Innovation and quality are rising, our games are more accessible and fun, and we have more new titles than at any time in our history."

EA expects fiscal year 2009 revenue to be between $4.9 and $5.15 billion, up from $3.67 billion in 2008.

The firm forecast annual earnings per share between $0.21 and $0.48 this fiscal year, compared to last year's loss per share of $1.45.

"From Spore on the PC to Dead Space on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to MySims on the Wii and Nintendo DS to Scrabble on the iPhone and Facebook, this is the best title portfolio in the company's history," Riccitiello added.