Q2 losses for SouthPeak

Virginia-based US publisher SouthPeak Interactive has seen the $1.2m profit it enjoyed in the quarter ending December 31st 2008 turn into a $2.6m loss for the same period in 2009.

Also down were revenues – they fell from $17.3m to $10.1m, a decline of 42 per cent. Operating costs, however, were down significantly at $5.3m.

Given the challenging and crowded retail market that continues to operate under unprecedented inventory controls, we shipped only two new titles [in the period], CEO Melanie Mroz stated.

[It was] a strategic decision to release the games that we knew would succeed during the peak fourth calendar quarter selling season. We believe this defensive posturing has allowed us to fare relatively well against strong industry headwinds as we continue to execute on our proven business strategy.”

Looking forwards, the publisher believes that the increased focused on developing owned brands seen at larger publishers will allow SouthPeak to forge a stronger position in the years ahead.

We are seeing an increasing market shift of larger publishers focusing on their owned and branded games,” chairman Terry Phillips stated. This offers SouthPeak increasing access to new titles at nominal fees from emerging developers.

To further diversify our offering, later this year we plan to enter the social gaming sector, where we see a significant opportunity to grow our business through new and relevant titles introductions for this growing platform.”