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NCsoft® Corporation (KSE:036570.KS) today announced third quarter 2006 sales of KRW (Korea Won) 85 billion (US$90.1 million), operating income of KRW 17.5 billion (US$18.7 million) and net profit of KRW 12.8 billion (US$13.7 million), all on a consolidated basis. Compared to the previous quarter, sales decreased 1% while operating income rose 944%. The company reported a turnaround in net profit from the previous quarter, an increase of 16.4% excluding the Q2 Auto Assault® write-off of KRW 11.2 billion. The results were due to brisk sales of the world’s leading MMORPG franchise Lineage®, Lineage II and City of Heroes®/City of Villains® that beat market expectations and a decrease in operating costs such as labor and marketing. By region, domestic sales amounted to KRW 53.9 billion (US$57.5 million), up 2% from the previous quarter thanks to the continued popularity of Lineage and Lineage II. North America and Europe recorded sales of KRW 15.8 billion (US$16.9 million) and KRW 6.1 billion (US$6.5 million), respectively. In Japan, steady sales of the Lineage series, buoyed by an increase in the number of users of Lineage II and the Chronicle 5 update in September, led to sales of KRW 9.1 billion (US$9.7 million), up 22% q-q. The percentage breakdown of regional sales shows Korea with 57% of total sales followed by North America with 19%, Europe with 7% and Japan with 11%. Overseas royalties amounted to 6%. Meanwhile, the percentage breakdown of sales by game titles shows Lineage and Lineage II with 36% and 35%, respectively, followed by City of Heroes/City of Villains with 9% and Guild Wars® with 14%. NCSoft CFO Lee Jae-ho said, “The company’s accumulated earnings up to the third quarter exceeded its initial projection. Therefore, we are revising our 2006 earnings outlook upward to KRW 339 billion (US$361.8 million) in sales from the previous forecast of KRW 330 billion (US$352.2 million). The projection for operating income is upgraded to KRW 39 billion (US$41.6 million) from KRW 20 billion (US$21.3 million). The revision reflects the ongoing success with our game titles and the positive effects we’ve seen from the company’s cost controls.” On October 27, NCsoft carried out a simultaneous global launch of the third campaign in the Guild Wars franchise, Guild Wars Nightfall™. This week, NCsoft is showcasing for the first time in Korea its hugely anticipated MMORPG project, Aion™. The game is being shown at G-star, Korea’s largest game exhibition. Early public testing for the game is slated to begin within the year. Additionally at G-star, NCsoft is showing off another new project, ATrix™. Testing for that game is slated to begin in the next two months. |
