Electronic Arts’ mobile revenue climbs again, up to $87M in Q4
Electronic Arts mobile revenues climbed 24 percent quarter-over-quarter to $87 million in Q4 2012. It was the third straight quarter in a row the company’s mobile revenues increased. Year-on-year, mobile revenues were also up 24 percent from $70 million in Q4 2011.
Overall mobile revenues made up six percent of EA’s total earnings, a slight decrease from seven percent in Q3 2012. According to EA’s non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings, mobile revenues accounted for 20.2 percent of EA’s total digital revenue for the quarter. Smartphone revenue increased by 83 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter.
Non-GAAP mobile revenues totaled $284 million for EA’s 2012 fiscal year, accounting for 23 percent of all digital revenue. Although smartphone revenues were up 94 percent year-on-year, EA’s mobile revenues increased by just 17 percent from $242 million in its 2011 fiscal year due to continuing declines in EA’s feature phone business. During the call EA CEO John Riccitiello revealed 72 percent of EA’s non-GAAP mobile revenues came from smartphones in Q4.
Overall, EA revealed few specifics about its mobile business, but did reveal subsidiary PopCap was on track to generate double digit non-GAAP earnings per share in the 2013 financial year. The new version of PopCap’s Bejeweled Blitz is currently EA’s top grossing iOS game. According to our AppData traffic tracking service, Bejeweled Blitz is currently the No. 16 top grossing iPhone app.
The company also revealed it has plans to release 41 new games on mobile, social and its Play 4 Free service in 2013. Upcoming mobile titles for EA’s 2013 fiscal year will include a SimCity title in Q4, a Need for Speed title in Q3, FIFA 13 in Q2, and new iterations on PopCap’s Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies.
EA’s GAAP net income for quarter ending on March 31 was $400 million. Net income on a trailing 12 month basis was $76 million. The company is predicting $4.075 billion in GAAP net revenue for its 2013 fiscal year, with a loss per share of between $0.16 and $0.36 cents. EA stock dipped during after hours trading, declining 4.82 percent to $14.40 each on the news.
