MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Social games firm Zynga has announced the departure of its chief financial officer in spite of the publisher posting financial results exceeding its expectations.
Zynga forecasted $155m to $170m for the quarter, and beat these predictions by recording bookings of $176m. This is an increase of $1m year-on-year – in Q3 2014, the firm posted bookings of $175m.
The social publisher also boasts that its mobile bookings have increased 26 per cent year-on-year to $121m. This represents 69 per cent of Zynga’s total bookings.
It’s not all good news, however. Zynga’s playerbase continues to fall. Its average daily active users dropped to 19m this quarter, a dip of 21 per cent, while average monthly active users fell to 75m, a drop of 27 per cent.
Zynga has also announced that its CFO is departing. David Lee is leaving the company on December 11th, with the firm’s chief accounting officer Michelle Quejado taking over until a new CFO is found.
"I believe Zynga is in a much stronger position today than it was when I joined the company, and I want to thank Mark for his partnership. We’ve moved the majority of our business to mobile and are focused on growing our new IP and existing franchises, while significantly reducing our cost structure," said Lee.
"I’m proud of what our teams have accomplished and know that they, along with our interim CFO Michelle Quejado, will continue to focus on delivering long-term value for our shareholders while executing against our mission to connect the world though games."
CEO Mark Pincus added: I want to thank David for the leadership and commitment he has shown Zynga. Over the past six months, David and I have partnered on a number of key initiatives to strengthen the company’s long-term position.
This has included our $100 million cost reduction program, our continued transition to mobile and, most recently, our $200 million stock buyback program. David will stay on until mid-December to manage the transition and work with our newly appointed interim CFO, Michelle Quejado, Zynga’s chief accounting officer."
