Funcom Q1 profits rebound

Funcom closed out its 2008 fiscal year on a grim note. While the Norwegian game company saw Age of Conan push revenues to $39.9 million during the 12-month period, Funcom suffered a sizable $33.8 million loss during the period. However, as indicated by Funcom at the time of its full-year report in February, the first part of 2009 has seen a stabilization in Age of Conan's user base, with subscription durations also on the rise.

Substantiating those words with numbers, Funcom has revealed as part of its first-quarter earnings report that net income for the January-March period reached $1.47 million on $7.7 million in revenue. While not a particularly telling comparison given Age of Conan's May 2008 release, Funcom's current first-quarter financials compare to profits of $919,000 on revenues of $963,000 in 2008.

Funcom did not provide an update on Age of Conan's subscriber levels, saying only that the game "is seeing a significant increase in players and new customers per month." The game maker also noted that the average time spent playing the game is on the rise, as are average subscription periods.

Looking ahead to the April-June quarter, Funcom projected revenues of between $5 million and $7 million, led primarily by Age of Conan subscription fees. The Norwegian company also said that its cash reserves--which currently stand at $39.6 million--will be sufficient to launch its upcoming titles, including The Secret World, which was formally debuted during this year's Game Developers Conference.