Activision Blizzard rakes in hundreds of millions

Activision Blizzard has released its Q2 results for the 2013 financial year, reporting net revenue of $1.05-billion. The number is down from the same period in 2012, which generated $1.08 billion.

Operating income was $430-million for the three months ending 30 June 2013.

The company pulled in $387 million from digital channels, which made up 37% of the company’s total revenue.

Activision noted the Skylanders franchise as one of its strong cards, as well as the continued sales in the Call of Duty franchise.

“We delivered strong quarterly and first half net revenues, operating income, and earnings,” said CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick.

“Year to date, we generated a record $434 million in operating cash flow. However, despite this strength in the front half of the year,we remain cautious about the back half. The issues we previously identified, including increased competition in the second half of the year and uncertainties surrounding the console transition, remain on the horizon. We are confident that we will continue to successfully navigate industry challenges and find new opportunities to provide superior returns to our shareholders.”

Selected Business Highlights:

For the first six months of 2013, Activision Blizzard was the number 1 third-party publisher in North America and Europe combined.

For the first six months of 2013, Activision Blizzard had the top-two best-selling games in North America and Europe combined, with Activision Publishing’s Skylanders Giants and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

In both North America and Europe, Activision Publishing’s Skylanders Giants was the Number 1 best-selling console and hand-held game overall in dollars for the first six months of 2013.

As of July 31, 2013, the Skylanders franchise has generated, life-to-date, more than $1.5 billion in worldwide retail sales.

As of June 30, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft remains the number 1 subscription-based MMORPG, with approximately 7.7 million subscribers.

In July, Activision Blizzard forked out approximately R79-billion to buy back its shares from parent Vivendi, separating itself from the giant media company.