Interplay Entertainment has today announced its fourth-quarter and year-end operating results for 2003. The company's net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2003, was $3.3 million, compared to a net loss of $5.4 million for the same period in 2002. For the 12-month period ended December 31, 2003, though, Interplay reported a net income of only $1.3 million, compared to $15.1 million for the previous year.

Interplay attributes last year's fourth-quarter success to the fact that it recorded the revenues for the delivery of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II product gold masters in the fourth quarter, although the game didn't actually go on sale until January 20 this year. Interplay's net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2003 were $11.5 million versus $7.1 million for the same period 12 months earlier. The increase in net revenues, says Interplay, is a result of increased royalty and licensing net revenues due to the sale of the Galleon video game and lower product returns and price concessions in both North America and Europe.

Interplay attributed the decrease in its net income for the 12 months ended December 31, 2003, (compared to the previous year) to the fact that it sold Shiny Entertainment for a gain of $28.8 million in the 2002 period. The company's net revenues for 2003 were $36.3 million versus $44 million for 2002. The net revenues for 2003 included $15 million related to the sale of all future publishing rights to the Hunter: The Reckoning license. Interplay's operating income for 2003 was $1.4 million, a figure that represents an increase of 111 percent over the previous year's operating loss of $12.4 million.

"These results mark an important milestone for Interplay. In 2003, we had a return to operating profit and substantially reduced our debt. However, we continue to operate under cash constraints," said Herve Caen, chairman and CEO at Interplay. "Specifically, Interplay is three months in arrears on its corporate lease obligation, may have short-term payroll difficulties, and has outstanding payroll tax obligations as of the date of this release. Certainly, financial challenges remain, yet we are proud of what our team has accomplished thus far, and we are committed to working even harder to maintain our return to operating profitability."