Activision boosted its guidance Thursday after reporting record Q1 results, with Guitar Hero II, Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third selling big. Hardware forecasts within.
Activision said it shipped over 8 million units of new game releases worldwide during the quarter. CEO Robert Kotick said in a statement, “Activision was the #1 third-party U.S. publisher on the console and handheld platforms.”
Net revenues were up 163 percent to $495.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared to $188.1 million for the same period a year ago.
Net income was $27.8 million, up from $18.3 million a year prior.
Aside from the insanely popular Guitar Hero II, licensed games Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third and Transformers: The Game drove the record quarter.
Following the results, Activision increased its fiscal year guidance to $1.87 billion in net revenues and earnings per share of 51 cents. Prior guidance was $1.8 billion in net revenue and earnings per share of 45 cents.
Activision’ Q2 guidance is $250 million in net revenues and a net loss of 4 cents per share.
Activision said in a conference call that this fiscal year will be the “largest and most profitable year in Activision history.”
Q2 will almost certainly yield big sales of Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, which launched in late July.
Kotick said that Guitar Hero II Encore: Rocks the 80s boasted “the highest first-day sell-through in Activision history.” He added that although Guitar Hero has seen multiple iterations, there is “still strong growth potential” for the franchise.
Activision also said it expects the following increases in hardware during the calendar year in North America: PS2 up 4-5 million units; PS3 up 3 million; Xbox 360 up 4-5 million; Wii up “5 million-plus”; and handhelds up 12-13 million.
Activision’s international publishing revenues grew 240 percent year over year.