Electronic Arts Breaks Out the Bubbly

Electronic Arts said that in its fourth fiscal quarter, the company's revenues increased 23 percent to US$143.8 million and net income increased 40 percent to $10.4 million. Its yearly review for the period ending March 31 was also good; revenues came to $624.8 million, an increase of 17 percent, and net income came to $53 million - 31 percent higher than the $40.5 million reported last year. EA released eleven products during its fourth quarter: five for PCs, two for the PlayStation, three for the Saturn, and one for the N64. These included FIFA Soccer 64 for the Nintendo 64, FIFA Soccer 97 for the PC, NBA Live 97 for PC and PlayStation, Need for Speed II on the PlayStation, and Privateer 2: The Darkening and Theme Hospital, both for PC.

The company also experienced growth in its European, North American, and South Asian Pacific operations, although revenues in Japan declined by 9 percent. This was attributed to fewer affiliated label product revenues and not as much demand for PC software. However, EA's 32-bit system revenues increased by 81 percent.

As a result of all this activity, many investment institutions have upgraded the company's stock from "buy" to "strong buy."