Take-Two's third-quarter tops Street view, but fourth-quarter outlook misses

By Malathi Nayak

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software reported third-quarter results on Monday that beat Wall Street expectations, helped by its holiday hits “Grand Theft Auto V” and “NBA 2K14,” but it gave a forecast for its fiscal fourth quarter that was weaker than expected.

Shares in Take-Two were down 2 percent in after-hours trading after closing at $18.90 on the Nasdaq.

Take-Two, which also publishes “BioShock Infinite,” said non-GAAP net revenue was $767.7 million (470.6 million pounds) in the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, compared with $405 million a year ago. That surpassed the $704.4 million average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters I/B/E/S.

“Grand Theft Auto V,” an action-adventure game in which players roam an urban landscape modeled on Los Angeles, smashed industry records and was the top-selling game of 2013, according to market research firm NPD.

For the fourth quarter ending March, the company’s expects non-GAAP revenue in the range of $170 million to $200 million and non-GAAP net income of zero to 10 cents per share. That is below Wall Street’s forecast for revenue of $219.2 million and earnings of 13 cents per share, according to Thomson-Reuters

I/B/E/S.

For the third quarter, on a non-GAAP basis, net profit was $210.7 million, or $1.70 per share, compared with a net income of $78.8 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier. This beat Wall Street’s expectations of earnings of $1.37 per share.

The New York-based company said its GAAP net income was $578.4 million, or $4.69 per share, compared with a net income of $71.4 million, or 66 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $1.86 billion from $415.8 million a year earlier.

(Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Take-Two's third-quarter tops Street view, but fourth-quarter outlook misses