EA profits in Q4

EA has posted Q4 net revenues of $979 million, up $119 million from 2009’s Q4 tally of $860 million. Profits came in at $30 million, compared with a net loss of $42 million for the prior year. The company said its best performers were Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2 and Dante’s Inferno.

Digital revenue, including online and wireless, was $570 million, up 33 percent year-over-year. EA Mobile revenues came in at $212 million, up 12 percent year-over-year. CFO Eric Brown predicted that EA’s digital business will grow a further 30% in the year ahead.

CEO John Riccitiello said, "We had an excellent fourth quarter, driving record-breaking non-GAAP revenue in the fiscal year. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 outperformed, which contributed to revenue at the high end of our guidance range, and we exceeded our expectations on the bottom line."

Sales for the full fiscal year ended March 31 were $3.6 billion as compared with $4.2 billion for the prior year. EA lost $677 million, compared with just over $1 billion last year. EA said its sales for the year ahead would be $3.35 to $3.6 billion, down from prior expectations of $3.45 to $3.7 billion. It said shifting release dates were to blame for the revisions.

The company bullet-pointed its achievements for the past year including:

20 titles earning a Metacritic rating of 80 or above.

19 percent share against competitors up 1.7 points from the prior year.

Four of the top 20 games in North America and four of the top 20 games in Europe.

Five EA titles sold more than four million units in the fiscal year: FIFA 10, Madden NFL 10, The Sims 3, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Need for Speed Shift.

Battlefield 1943 sold over 1.5 million units to date, more than any other download-only game on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Eight million units Hasbro branded family and kids games to date, worldwide.

The Sims franchise has sold over 125 million units worldwide to date.

FIFA 10 has sold over 10 million units since launch.