Eidos plc ("Eidos"), (LSE:EID.L, NASDAQ:EIDSY), one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, today provides an update on trading during the second half of the financial year to 30 June 2004.

The initial shipments of Hitman: Contracts, released in the last week of April, have been broadly in line with management expectations. The title has reviewed well and has shipped approximately 1.5 million units to date. The title has also achieved number one rating status in the UK, France, Germany and the US during the first two weeks of launch.

However, the recent and unexpected softness of the games market, particularly in the US, is having a negative effect on the unit sales of Hitman: Contracts and will, therefore, adversely impact upon the Company's financial performance for the full year. Based on overall sell-through rates to date, management has identified a potential shortfall exposure of c.700,000 units of previously anticipated re-orders that are now unlikely to materialise. Whilst the operating profit contribution from the re-orders would have been expected to be in the region of GBP 9 million, the actual impact on the year-end outcome, while very significant, will depend upon a number of other factors, including the on-going sales of other titles.

The Company has two remaining titles scheduled for release prior to the end of the financial year, Thief: Deadly Shadows and ShellShock: Nam '67. Thief is in manufacture for shipment on 25 May in the US and 11 June in Europe. ShellShock is in the approval process and is due to ship in the last week of the financial year as originally forecast.

Eidos intends to announce its full year results for the current financial year in early September. The Company will keep the market informed in a timely manner should any material changes occur in the intervening period.

In the light of continuing media speculation concerning a possible approach to the Company, the Board can confirm that it has received no such approach and is not in discussions with any party concerning a possible offer.

Eidos is the largest video games publisher and developer of entertainment software in the UK. It has publishing operations across Europe (France, Germany, Spain and the UK) and in the US, Japan and Australia. It also has significant development studio expertise, both internal and external, in Europe and the US.

Eidos plc is a public limited company registered in England (number 2501949). Its Ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: EID.L) and, in the form of American Depositary Shares, on the NASDAQ National Market (symbol: EIDSY). Further information on the Company can be found at http://www.eidos.com.

Eidos and the Eidos logo are registered trademarks of Eidos plc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

This statement contains information about our past performance or practices. No such information should be used as an indicator of future performance or practices. It may also contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. You can identify these statements by their use of words such as "will", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "intend", "plan", "should", "may", "assume" and other similar words. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. Such factors include: general economic conditions in the Group's markets, particularly levels of consumer spending; exchange rates, particularly between the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar, in which the Group makes significant sales; the Group's ability to continue to win acceptance of its products, which are offered in highly competitive markets characterized by continual new product introductions, rapid developments in technology and subjective and changing consumer preferences (particularly in the entertainment business); the Group's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; risks of doing business internationally; and other risks described from time to time in Eidos plc's Securities and Exchange Commission periodic reports and filings. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No information contained in this statement constitutes or shall be deemed to constitute an invitation or otherwise deal in shares or ADR's of Eidos plc. The price of shares and income derived from them can go down as well as up.

Posted By: Chris Pereira - 96 Reads

Go Back | News Archive | Post a Comment

::Hot News::

· Namco Announces Tekken 5 Premium Bundle

· PSP Launch Date & Lineup for US Confirmed

· LucasArts Announces New Star Wars Title

· Finalists Annouced For 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

· SWAT 4 Candidate Open Beta Mission - Sign Up Now

::Sponsored Links::

DS - GBA - GC - NGE - PC - PS2 - PSP - XBX

February 16, 2005