Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has posted fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat its guidance and has issued a forecast for improved results in fiscal 2019.
Electronic Arts said net income in the fiscal fourth quarter that ended 31 March 2018 totaled US$607mln, or US$1.95 a share, which was up 7% from net income of US$566mln, or US$1.81 a share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. Electronic Arts had offered guidance for earnings of US$1.86 a share.
Revenue at the video game creator rose 3%, to US$1.58bn in the latest fourth quarter from US$1.53bn a year earlier. Electronic Arts had offered guidance for revenue of US$1.53bn.
"Fiscal 2018 was a year of strong growth and continued transformation for Electronic Arts, as we expanded the reach of our leading franchises like FIFA, Battlefield and The Sims to more players across more platforms and geographies," CEO Andrew Wilson said.
Looking ahead, Electronics Arts said it expects revenue for the current fiscal year to total about US$5.6bn and for diluted earnings per share to come in at about US$3.55. Those figures would be up from revenue of $US5.15bn and per-share earnings of US$3.34 in all of fiscal 2018.
Wedbush Securities analysts Michael Pachter, Nick McKay and Matthew Breda said the company's fiscal 2019 guidance "reflects its confidence that live services and other digital revenues will continue to grow, which should result in further margin expansion during the year."
In a report titled "An Embarrassment of Riches," Wedbush increased its 12-month price target for Electronic Arts to US$158 a share and gives the company an "Outperform" rating.
In trading after the opening bell, shares of Electronics Arts were up about 3%, at US$127.50 a share.