Activision Blizzard vacation quarter forecasts are lacking in estimates

(Reuters) – Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.OThursday announced earnings for the fourth quarter, a turnover lower than analysts' estimates and the video game publisher said that the game franchise "Destiny" was below its own expectations.

The company's shares fell 10.8% to $ 56.02 in after-market trading.

"Destiny 2: Forsaken" was released in September. This is a major extension of the company's very popular first-person shooter, "Destiny 2".

"Although Forsaken is a high-quality expansion with a strong commitment and new game modes, we have not met our commercial expectations and there is still work to be done," said President Collister Johnson at the time. a call in the future.

Activision is forecasting fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $ 1.27 per share and an adjusted business of $ 3.05 billion.

Analysts on average expected the company to earn $ 1.34 per share for a turnover of $ 3.06 billion, according to Refinitiv's IBES data.

Activision released Oct. 12, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4," the latest version of its successful franchise, which grossed more than $ 500 million in the first three days of release.

However, the first sales figures disappointed investors who had higher expectations. Despite this, analysts seem to believe that "Black Ops 4" has started well.

"The forecast for the T4 is below expectations, which should give them some leeway as the holiday period is still a little less predictable, but Black Ops 4 looks good for the departure," said Kunaal Malde, an analyst at Atlantic Equities.

The success of the "Royal Battle" genre games, such as "Fortnite" and "BattleUnknown's Battlegrounds" has also somewhat challenged game publishers like Activision and Take Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO.O).

To take advantage of the popularity of the genre, Activision launched the Battle Royale mode in its game "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4".

The company has also suffered the backlash from the gaming community after one of its studios revealed that "Diablo Immortal", the latest installment of its popular franchise, would be a mobile game, rather than announce the much anticipated " Diablo 4 "at BlizzCon, its annual game. agreement.

Activision's net earnings were $ 260 million, or 34 cents per share, in the third quarter ended September 30, compared with $ 188 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 52 cents per share. Total adjusted revenues fell nearly 13% to $ 1.66 billion.

Analysts expected on average a turnover of 1.66 billion dollars and a profit of 50 cents per share.