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SCi - Preliminary Announcement of Results for the 12 months to 30 June 2008

by rawmeatcowboy
15 September 2008
GN 1.0 / 2.0

SCi Entertainment Group Plc (”SCi” or “the Company”), the holding Company of Eidos Interactive, creator of some of the world’s leading videogame properties including Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, Championship Manager, Kane & Lynch and Just Cause, announces its unaudited preliminary results for the 12 months to 30 June 2008.

Company highlights

The 2008 financial results reflect a year of decisive action and business transformation with a revitalised focus on cornerstone franchises to capitalise on the substantial market opportunity.

· Leaner operating structure in place with a 25% lower headcount level to deliver the targeted reduction in operating costs of £14 million in the new financial year

· Shifting the business structure to a studio-led model to form focused teams around our key franchises to produce high quality games and high-impact, focused and coordinated marketing campaigns

· Executive Board restructured with the appointment of Phil Rogers as Chief Executive Officer and recently Robert Brent as Chief Financial Officer

· Strengthened Board with the appointment of two new Non-executive Directors, Kevin Tsujihara and Aaron Brown, from Warner Bros. and Thorson Investments respectively

· £60 million (before expenses) raised by way of a successful Placing and Open Offer to provide working capital and £25 million new debt facility secured

Key financials

· Revenue declined to £118.9 million* (2007: £128.8 million*) reflecting major transition and change during the year

· Focus on publishing own products resulted in gross profit increasing to £56.1 million against £54.3 million last year and an improvement in gross profit margin from 42.2% to 47.2%

· Adjusted EBITDA loss** of £99.1 million (2007: loss £13.3 million) within market expectations, as a result of necessary transformation of the business and a loss before tax of £136.0 million (2007: loss £30 million)

* excludes £14.8 million (2007: £15.2 million) of revenue for Proein SL which has been classified as discontinued

** see note 7

Commenting on today’s results, Phil Rogers, CEO, stated:

“The 2008 results reflect a year in which we took decisive action to transform our business. We have emerged as a stronger business and over the next year we will see the results of our restructured and revitalised operation. We are focused on delivering higher quality games with our priorities clearly set on maximising the returns from our cornerstone franchises.

“We remain totally focused on and excited by the worldwide release of Tomb Raider: Underworld in November. Tomb Raider: Underworld has benefited from additional development time and a carefully choreographed build up to launch. In 2009 we will continue to see the benefits of our new structure to the releases of our games, which include Just Cause 2, Battlestations Pacific, Championship Manager 09 and Batman:Arkham Asylum.

“Our commitment to improving quality across the business and securing strategic partnerships will be the key to unlock our full potential.”

About SCi

SCi Entertainment Group is the holding Company of Eidos Interactive, creator of some of the world’s leading videogame properties. Consisting of several development studios including Crystal Dynamics, Io Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios, Eidos Game Studios and Eidos Montreal as well as sales and distribution offices in Europe and the US. The Group has a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, Championship Manager, Carmageddon and Just Cause.

www.sci.co.uk

Forward looking statements

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any expected future events or results referred to in these forward looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Chairman’s Statement

“Focus and clear strategy will stand the Group on solid ground to achieve long-term returns for shareholders.”

The past year has been dominated by acquisition talks, restructuring and transition for the Group. Our business has undergone fundamental change to ensure it is best placed to take advantage of the growing interactive videogames market and deliver long-term returns for shareholders.

At the start of the 2008 calendar year, the Group underwent a number of significant changes. In early January after the termination of acquisition talks we reset our financial outlook for 2008 and later that month Jane Cavanagh, Bill Ennis and Rob Murphy all stepped down from their respective positions as directors of the Company. Phil Rogers became Chief Executive Officer and led a full business review with the support of the Board which resulted in the Group being significantly restructured and refocused.

During the second half of the financial year, we raised £60 million (before expenses) by way of a successful Placing and Open Offer of new shares to provide working capital and arranged a new debt facility of £25 million.

Results for the year

Our revenue declined to £118.9 million (2007: £128.8 million) in the financial year reflecting its transitional nature (we have also excluded Proein SL from our results for both years as its sale is in the final stages of completion and it has therefore been treated as a discontinued operation). Nonetheless, both gross profit and gross profit margin improved as a result of the greater weighting to published titles, the former increasing to £56.1 million (2007: £54.3 million) and latter improving five percentage points to 47.2%.

Adjusted EBITDA loss was £99.1 million (2007: loss £13.3 million) highlighting the scale of transformation that the Group has undergone. The restructuring resulted in an additional charge in the year of £65.9 million against capitalised development costs. As of 30 June 2008 we have £49.7 million carried on our balance sheet reflecting the investments we have made in major titles in development including Tomb Raider: Underworld, Hitman 5, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Shellshock 2, Just Cause 2 and new intellectual properties.

Our decision to restructure various components of the business and reduce operating costs has also resulted in a £16.3 million impairment to the value of intangible assets and exceptional restructuring costs of £6.2 million. As a result our business structure has become more focussed and efficient with a leaner operating structure now in place to deliver the targeted reduction in operating costs of £14 million in the new financial year.

The past financial year has been difficult but the action we have taken was necessary and has produced a business that is now well placed to capitalise on the opportunities that the videogames industry presents.

Strengthening of the Board

In addition to Phil Rogers, the Board has been strengthened with the appointment of two new Non-executive Directors, Kevin Tsujihara and Aaron Brown, representing investors Warner Bros. and Thorson Investments respectively. Since the end of the financial year we have also appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Robert Brent.

Business structure

The Group’s business structure has been changed to a studio-led model focused on maximising returns from our cornerstone franchises such as Tomb Raider, Hitman and Deus Ex. We have adopted a flexible and efficient approach to distribution and have entered into a strategic agreement with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for the sales, marketing and distribution of our products in the important North American market, strengthening our relationship with Warner Bros., one of the world’s leading media companies.

Working in partnership is a key theme for the future of the Group. By identifying and working with the right partners we are looking to achieve greater scale and build flexibility into the business.

Summary

Our industry is growing through a broadening demographic appeal of games, increasing spend among gamers, longer product cycles and new online opportunities.

We have provided the right resource and environment for our studios to do what they do best: create great intellectual property and commercially successful games, while the appropriate balance of direct and third party distribution channels will build flexibility and scale into our business.

Our cornerstone franchises have the potential to deliver substantial returns on investment and remain key to the business. We must continue to be creative and innovative to ensure these and our future games are relevant and appealing to our consumer.

The Board believes the Group is now well positioned to deliver returns for our shareholders by leveraging our new business approach, revitalised focus and cornerstone franchises to capitalise on the substantial market opportunity.

Tim Ryan

Chairman

Chief Executive’s Statement

“Our commitment to improving quality across the business and securing strategic partnerships will be the key to unlock our full potential.”

Our 2008 financial results reflect a year in which we took decisive action and transformed our business.

Business Review

On 29 February 2008 we announced a restructuring plan and concluded that our focus should be on cornerstone franchises in order to optimise returns on these titles. The key aspects of the new business plan are as follows:

Fundamental change in business structure

The Group’s business structure has changed from a centrally controlled development and publishing model to one that is studio-led, focused on building appropriate studio infrastructure around the Group’s cornerstone franchises, such as Tomb Raider, Hitman, Championship Manager and Deus Ex. The Group’s studios are now responsible for the development of games from initial design through production and branding to product marketing, working in conjunction with sales, channel marketing and distribution expertise.

We have a dedicated team responsible for our other titles and third party products, including casual games. Titles currently in production include: Just Cause 2, Battlestations Pacific, Pony Friends 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Product improvement initiatives

The decision to shift the Group’s business structure to a studio-led model has enabled it to form focused teams around its key products with the aim of not only producing high quality games, but high-impact, focused and coordinated marketing campaigns. The marketing of our core products is beginning further out from the product launch date in order to generate the right level of consumer awareness, build anticipation, establish and work with relevant online communities and deliver a strategic marketing campaign which can gather momentum towards the product launch.

Over the past six months the Group has cancelled a number of projects that the Board considered either loss-making, unlikely to generate acceptable returns on investment or not of appropriate quality. We have also introduced a new, tougher ‘green-light’ process to monitor product quality of all future projects.

Cost reduction plan

Leaner operating structure now in place with a 25% lower headcount level to deliver the targeted reduction in operating costs of £14 million in the new financial year.

We raised £60 million (before expenses) by way of a successful Placing and Open Offer of new shares to provide working capital and we have made fundamental and beneficial changes to our business in order to take advantage of the continued growth in the games industry.

A ‘New’ Company

We are more than six months into the new structure and revitalised business. Progress is in-line with expectations and we are benefiting from transitioning key publishing roles into our major studios, with a highly coordinated and executed development, marketing and sales campaign for Tomb Raider: Underworld well under way.

We have identified the areas we need to focus on in order to achieve both our short and long-term goals. Our North American partnership with Warner Bros. is key to maximising our presence in this crucial market. This agreement became effective on 23 May 2008 and we are working with Warner Bros. in a number of ways, including the delivery of high-impact channel marketing and PR campaigns to benefit our forthcoming product releases in North America including Tomb Raider: Underworld, and Warner Bros.’ own intellectual property, Batman, in our recently unveiled game Batman: Arkham Asylum. We have also entered into a strategic mobile relationship with Electronic Arts for the exclusive multi-regional distribution and licensing rights to certain Eidos titles across mobile devices.

In Europe, our sales and distribution business continues to deliver but with greater focus and momentum. We have agreed the sale of our Spanish distribution business, Proein SL, to Koch Media and will now focus on maximising returns in the UK, France and Germany through our offices in those territories, whilst working with distribution partners in other European and export territories.

Results overview

Our revenue for the year declined to £118.9 million (2007: £128.8 million) reflecting the transitional nature of our financial year. These figures exclude the revenues of £14.8 million (2007: £15.2 million) from Proein SL since it has been treated as a discontinued operation.

Published products contributed 60.0% (2007: 52.3%) of our total revenue with 10 titles released in the year and 7.1 million units sold (2007: 7.6 million units) with Kane & Lynch (1.4 million units), Tomb Raider: Anniversary (1.0 million units) and Conflict Denied Ops (0.5 million units) our largest unit selling titles.

Our distribution revenue declined to £42.2 million (35.5% of revenue) from £53.7 million (41.7% of revenue) in 2007 as a result of the reduction in the number of global and local distribution titles released. The majority of our distribution revenue was derived from sales of Age of Conan, which sold in excess of one million units since release in the final quarter of the year to 30 June 2008. The remainder of our revenue in both years was licensing and other income.

Both gross profit and gross margin improved as a result of the change in mix from lower margin distribution products to higher margin published products, which also showed improved margin due to higher achieved premium price points and our biggest release occurring in the holiday season. Gross profit increased to £56.1 million (2007: £54.3 million) and our margin improved five percentage points to 47.2%.

Development costs including royalty payments charged to the income statement for the year totalled £104.3 million (2007: £32.8 million) of which £38.4 million relates to product releases. The remaining £65.9 million are adjustments to the net realisable value of ongoing and discontinued projects.

The Group spent £17.6 million (2007: £12.8 million) on product advertising in the financial year, representing 14.8% of revenue (2007: 10.0%). The increase is primarily due to additional investment to launch a new intellectual property in the holiday season.

Our administrative costs excluding exceptional charges were £62.9 million (2007: £39.5 million) of which £31.7 million (2007: £15.3 million) is amortisation, depreciation and impairment charges and £0.1 million (2007: £2.2 million) share based payment compensation.

The amortisation charge of acquired brands, technology and software was £11.7 million (2007: £11.4 million) with an additional impairment charge of £16.3 million (2007: £nil), which reflects the result of the strategic review and the decisions to restructure various components of the business, in particular the acquisitions made last year.

Our loss before tax was £136.0 million (2007: loss £30.0 million) giving a basic loss per share of 136.3p (2007: loss 35.3p).

Market overview

The market is substantial and continues to grow, with new opportunities for publishers to develop revenue streams and grow margins.

The current videogame cycle is expected to be the biggest and longest in the industry’s history. Screen Digest reports software revenues will be 23% higher than the previous cycle which ran from 2000 and was dominated by Sony’s PlayStation 2. In 2007 the value of the global software market reached a new record of £14.7 billion of sales and is forecast to grow by 12.5% in 2008. Western Europe and North America remain our key markets, with a combined software value of over £13.2 billion.

As a business, we are well placed to maximise the opportunities presented by the continued global growth in the market, which we believe is primarily driven by higher retail prices and an increased number of platforms, along with higher tie ratios (the number of games sold per console owner). In addition there is a broadening demographic appeal for games today and new revenue opportunities presented by online gaming, such as premium downloadable content, in-game advertising and micro transactions.

In the hardware market the Nintendo Wii is the current leader in terms of number of consoles sold to consumers, however no hardware manufacturer can yet assume ascendancy. As a publisher this presents a number of exciting opportunities. Nintendo has undoubtedly broadened the demographic appeal of videogames, while the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 continue to appeal to the core gamer.

We believe the online gaming market will benefit from increased broadband speed and penetration, presenting new revenue opportunities for our core games. We also believe that online gameplay features will help maintain premium price points for our products by extending their appeal and we intend to grow our presence in this online environment to exploit the strength of our games.

Priorities and Outlook

We have emerged from the past months of change as a stronger business and over the next year we will begin to see the results of our restructured and revitalised operation. The Group is focused on delivering higher quality games with our priorities set clearly on maximising the returns from our cornerstone franchises.

We remain totally focused on, and we are excited about, the worldwide release of Tomb Raider: Underworld on 18 November in North America and 21 November in Europe. Tomb Raider: Underworld has benefited from additional development time and a carefully choreographed build up to launch with increased tactical online presence, delivery of high quality marketing assets and the unveiling of a new ‘live’ Lara Croft - all helping to build ‘buzz’ prior to launch.

Our first Tomb Raider: Underworld trailer was launched exclusively on MTV in July in the US and Europe. Closer to home, the London unveiling of our new live Lara Croft secured national news coverage with the BBC and ITV in August and has continued to drive excitement and buzz for this key title across all key territories over the past month.

We will continue to drive innovation and encourage creativity throughout the business as we look to strategically grow our portfolio of videogame franchises. Products for our new financial year include: Just Cause 2, Battlestations Pacific, Monster Lab, Championship Manager 09, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Tomb Raider: Underworld.

A consistent identity

We are focusing our efforts on our cornerstone franchises, which are predominantly associated with the Eidos brand. The Eidos name is widely recognised in the games marketplace and is our trading name. The Board feels that it would be beneficial to align the name of the listed Company to the strong product brand that Eidos represents in order to benefit from a single identity and clearer outward and internal communication. Therefore it is the Board’s recommendation to change the name of the Company to Eidos plc.

A resolution to approve the change of name will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, which will be held on 2 December 2008.

Our staff remain absolutely fundamental to the success of the business. This has been a most challenging year and I would like to thank our employees for their contribution and continued commitment over the past 12 months.

Phil Rogers

Chief Executive

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