EA reports strong Q2 performance thanks to a boost in digital sales

Electronic Arts is reporting a steady growth in the second quarter of its fiscal year, owed in part to digital sales.

Total net revenue across Q2 of the 2018/19 fiscal year stands at $1.29 billion, a 34 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase. 61 per cent of that revenue originated from digital sales – about $780 million – with $506 million made up from physical sales, amongst other sources. The Q2 gross profit is reported as $868 million, with an operating income of $258 million.

Digital net bookings – the net amount of products and services sold digitally or physically in the period – for the trailing twelve months was a record $3.608 billion, up 11 per cent year-over-year and representing 69% of total net bookings.

“It was a strong second quarter, as we entertained players with four high-quality new EA Sports games, hundreds of content updates in our live services, and esports programs that reached record viewership,” said CEO Andrew Wilson. “We’re incredibly excited to bring innovative new games like Battlefield V and Command & Conquer: Rivals to our players this holiday season, and launch our breakthrough new IP Anthem in February. We’re set to deliver some amazing new ways to play and compete through the rest of this fiscal year and beyond.”

FIFA Mobile daily active players grew 50% year-on-year, with the FIFA eWorld Cup Final breaking records, including a increase in global viewership over last year, and more than 20 million players participating through the course of the FIFA 18 Global Series.

The Sims 4 also continues to boost its monthly average players, too, selling nearly 30 million expansion packs to date.

“We’re pleased with the performance of our business through the second quarter, and particularly with the strong digital net bookings,” said COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen. “We continue to deliver strong digital revenues across multiple platforms, business models and geographic territories.”

Going forward, EA expects a strong third quarter, forecasting $1.375 billion in net revenue and $1.725 billion in net bookings when it releases Battlefield V.