Profit creeps up at Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard has reported a net profit of $51 for the quarter ending September 30th 2010, up on the $15m it recorded in the same period the year before,

Net revenue was up from $703m last year to $745m this time. Sales reached $397 – in 2009 that figure stood at $348m. For the calendar year to date revenue stands at $3.02bn (up from $2.7bn in 2009) and earnings are up sharply at $651m (compared to $399m last year).

There was also digital success, too, with revenue from that sector up 15 per cent. So far this year digital has accounted for nearly half of the company’s non-GAAP net revenues.

For the third quarter, we exceeded our net revenues and earnings per share outlook and delivered strong year-over-year growth,” CEO Bobby Kotick explained.

Our better-than-expected results are due to our leadership in online entertainment, including strong performance from Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty franchise, and Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft and StarCraftII: Wings of Liberty .

Most importantly, we continue to deliver some of the world’s best games. As a result of our over-performance, we are raising our calendar year 2010 net revenue and earnings outlook. We expect to deliver the most profitable year in our history with record operating margins.”

The company also announced that it has new games based on the Transformers and X-Men IP in the works, and also re-iterated its ongoing commitment to the ‘Hero’ (as in, Guitar and DJ) brand.