Activision blizzard announces better-than-expected fourth quarter and
calendar year 2013 results
Santa monica, calif.--(business wire)--activision blizzard, inc. (nasdaq: atvi) today announced better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter and calendar year 2013. gaap non-gaap eps $ 0.79 $ 0.72 $ 0.78 $ 0.94 $ 1.18 for calendar year 2013, activision blizzard delivered gaap net revenues of $4.58 billion, as compared with $4.86 billion for 2012. on a non-gaap basis, the company’s net revenues were $4.34 billion, as compared with $4.99 billion for 2012. for the calendar year 2013, gaap net revenues from digital channels were $1.56 billion and represented 34% of the company’s total revenues. on a non-gaap-basis, for the calendar year 2013, net revenues from digital channels were $1.57 billion and represented a record 36% of the company’s total net revenues. for calendar year 2013, activision blizzard delivered gaap earnings per diluted share of $0.95, as compared with $1.01 per diluted share for 2012. on a non-gaap basis, the company delivered earnings per diluted share of $0.94, as compared with $1.18 per diluted share for 2012. for the quarter ended december 31, 2013, the company delivered gaap net revenues of $1.52 billion, as compared with $1.77 billion for the fourth quarter of 2012. on a non-gaap basis, the company’s net revenues were $2.27 billion, as compared with $2.60 billion for the fourth quarter of 2012. for the quarter ended december 31, 2013, activision blizzard’s gaap earnings per diluted share were $0.22, as compared with earnings per diluted share of $0.31 for the fourth quarter of 2012. on a non-gaap basis, the company’s earnings per diluted share were a record $0.79, as compared with $0.78 for the fourth quarter of 2012. the company reports results on both a gaap and a non-gaap basis. please refer to the tables at the back of this press release for a reconciliation of the company’s gaap and non-gaap results. bobby kotick, chief executive officer, activision blizzard, said, “2013 was a transformational year for activision blizzard and for our industry. our transaction with vivendi returned us to independence and eliminated the challenges and constraints of being a controlled company. the continued success of our games delivered better-than-expected financial results, including stronger net revenues and earnings per share, and over $1.26 billion in operating cash flow.” kotick continued, “as we look to 2014 and beyond, we have the strongest and most diverse pipeline of games in our history. in 2014, we expect these releases to enable us to grow non-gaap revenues year over year and generate record non-gaap earnings per share. we expect bungie’s destiny™, an innovative shared-world, first-person action game to be activision publishing’s next billion dollar franchise. activision publishing also has terrific new games planned for the call of duty® and skylanders™ franchises, and blizzard entertainment has an expansion to the top-selling pc and console game diablo® iii and another major new release. also in our pipeline for 2014 and the next few years are at least three potentially groundbreaking new free-to-play franchises—blizzard’s hearthstone™: heroes of warcraft™ and heroes of the storm™, and activision publishing’s call of duty online. we believe these games have great global potential. free-to-play as a business model has now achieved scale, both in the west and in china. hearthstone, which released in open beta on pc last month and which blizzard entertainment plans to expand this year to tablets and smartphones, is already attracting millions of players with strong engagement and monetization in the west and china, putting it on track to join world of warcraft®, diablo, and starcraft® as their fourth mega franchise.” kotick added, “over the last five years, through dividends and share buybacks, we have returned almost $10 billion dollars to our shareholders and today we announced an increase to our annual dividend and repayment of $375 million of debt. as we look to our newly independent future, we expect to continue to deliver strong returns to our stakeholders through the development and sale of the world’s best games, as we have for more than twenty years.” selected business highlights: in north america and europe combined, activision publishing was the #1 console and handheld publisher for the calendar year with the #2 and #3 best-selling franchises—call of duty and skylanders, including toys and accessories.1 in north america and europe combined, for the calendar year, activision publishing had four of the top-10 titles overall.1 for the fourth quarter, in aggregate across all platforms in the u.s. and europe combined, activision publishing’s call of duty: ghosts was the #1 best-selling title in both units and dollars and the #1 best-selling game on both next-gen platforms in both units and dollars. additionally, for the calendar year, call of duty: black ops ii was the #9 best-selling title in both units and dollars.2 for the calendar year, in north america and europe combined, skylanders giants™, including toys and accessories, was the #4 best-selling handheld and console game in dollars overall and skylanders swap force™, including toys and accessories, was the #6 best-selling handheld and console game in dollars overall.1 as of december 31, 2013, the skylanders franchise has generated, life-to-date, more than $2 billion in worldwide sales1 and, at the end of the year, activision had sold approximately 175 million skylanders toys worldwide.3 for the calendar year in north america, blizzard entertainment’s starcraft® ii: heart of the swarm® was the #1 best-selling pc game.⁴ as of december 31, 2013, blizzard entertainment’s world of warcraft remains the #1 subscription-based mmorpg, with approximately 7.8 million subscribers.3 company outlook on january 28, 2014, activision publishing released onslaught, the first downloadable map pack for call of duty: ghosts, on both xbox one, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from microsoft, and the xbox 360 entertainment system from microsoft. the company expects to release onslaught on other platforms later in the first quarter. additionally, on march 25, 2014, blizzard entertainment expects to release diablo iii: reaper of souls™, an expansion to blizzard’s award-winning action-role-playing game, diablo iii. activision blizzard’s first quarter and calendar year 2014 outlook is as follows: gaap cy 2014 net revenues q1 2014 ** fully diluted weighted average shares include participating securities and dilutive options on a weighted average basis. board declares cash dividend and debt repayment the board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.20 per common share payable on may 14, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business on march 19, 2014. additionally, the board of directors approved a repayment of $375 million of the company’s outstanding term loan b. conference call today at 4:30 p.m. est, activision blizzard’s management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the company’s results for the quarter and year ended december 31, 2013 and management’s outlook for 2014. the company welcomes all members of the financial and media communities and other interested parties to visit the “investor relations” area of www.activisionblizzard.com to listen to the conference call via live webcast or to listen to the call live by dialing into 877-857-6161 in the u.s. with passcode 2197679. about activision blizzard activision blizzard, inc. is the world’s largest and most profitable independent interactive entertainment publishing company. it develops and publishes some of the most successful and beloved entertainment franchises in any medium, including call of duty, skylanders, world of warcraft, starcraft and diablo. headquartered in santa monica, california, activision blizzard maintains operations throughout the united states, europe, and asia. it develops and publishes games on all leading interactive platforms and its games are available in most countries around the world. more information about activision blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com. 1 according to the npd group, gfk chart-track and activision blizzard internal estimates, including toys and accessories2 according to the npd group and gfk chart-track3 according to activision blizzard internal estimates4 according to the npd group, gfk chart-track and activision blizzard internal estimates subscriber definition: world of warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play world of warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. internet game room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. the above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules. non-gaap financial measures: as a supplement to our financial measures presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“gaap”), activision blizzard presents certain non-gaap measures of financial performance. these non-gaap financial measures are not intended to be considered in isolation from, as a substitute for, or as more important than, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with gaap. in addition, these non-gaap measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the items associated with the company’s results of operations as determined in accordance with gaap. activision blizzard provides net revenues, net income (loss), earnings (loss) per share and operating margin data and guidance both including (in accordance with gaap) and excluding (non-gaap) certain items. in addition, activision blizzard provides ebitda (defined as gaap net income (loss) before interest (income) expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) and adjusted ebitda (defined as non-gaap operating margin (see non-gaap financial measure below) before depreciation). the non-gaap financial measures exclude the following items, as applicable in any given reporting period: the change in deferred revenues and related cost of sales with respect to certain of the company’s online-enabled games; expenses related to stock-based compensation; the amortization of intangibles from purchase price accounting; fees and other expenses related to the acquisition of 429 million shares of our common stock on october 11, 2013 from vivendi, pursuant to the stock purchase agreement dated july 25, 2013 and the $4.75 billion debt financings related thereto; and the income tax adjustments associated with any of the above items. in the future, activision blizzard may also consider whether other significant non-recurring items should also be excluded in calculating the non-gaap financial measures used by the company. management believes that the presentation of these non-gaap financial measures provides investors with additional useful information to measure activision blizzard’s financial and operating performance. in particular, the measures facilitate comparison of operating performance between periods and help investors to better understand the operating results of activision blizzard by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of the company’s core business, operating results or future outlook. internally, management uses these non-gaap financial measures in assessing the company’s operating results, and measuring compliance with the requirements of the company’s debt financing agreements, as well as in planning and forecasting. activision blizzard’s non-gaap financial measures are not based on a comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, and the terms non-gaap net revenues, non-gaap net income, non-gaap earnings per share, non-gaap operating margin, and non-gaap or adjusted ebitda do not have a standardized meaning. therefore, other companies may use the same or similarly named measures, but exclude different items, which may not provide investors a comparable view of activision blizzard’s performance in relation to other companies. management compensates for the limitations resulting from the exclusion of these items by considering the impact of the items separately and by considering activision blizzard’s gaap, as well as non-gaap, results and outlook, and by presenting the most comparable gaap measures directly ahead of non-gaap measures, and by providing a reconciliation that indicates and describes the adjustments made. in addition to the reasons stated above, which are generally applicable to each of the items activision blizzard excludes from its non-gaap financial measures, there are additional specific reasons why the company believes it is appropriate to exclude the change in deferred revenues and related cost of sales with respect to certain of the company’s online-enabled games. since activision blizzard has determined that some of our games’ online functionality represents an essential component of gameplay and, as a result, a more-than-inconsequential separate deliverable, we recognize revenues attributed to these game titles over their estimated service periods, which may range from five months to a maximum of less than a year. the related cost of sales is deferred and recognized as the related revenues are recognized. internally, management excludes the impact of this change in deferred revenues and related cost of sales in its non-gaap financial measures when evaluating the company’s operating performance, when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods, and when assessing the performance of its management team. management believes this is appropriate because doing so enables an analysis of performance based on the timing of actual transactions with our customers, which is consistent with the way the company is measured by investment analysts and industry data sources. in addition, excluding the change in deferred revenues and the related cost of sales provides a much more timely indication of trends in our operating results. cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements: information in this press release that involves activision blizzard’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements under the heading “company outlook,” are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. activision blizzard generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “might,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” “future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. factors that could cause activision blizzard’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of activision blizzard’s titles, increasing concentration of titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the macroeconomic environment, activision blizzard’s ability to predict consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as first-person action, “toys to life” and massively multiplayer online games and preferences among hardware platforms, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, changing business models including digital delivery of content, competition, including from used games and other forms of entertainment, possible declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, particularly during the ongoing console transition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, the current regulatory environment, litigation risks and associated costs, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, financing providers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can create high quality “hit” titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities and potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, capital market risks, the possibility that expected benefits related to the recently completed transactions with vivendi may not materialize as expected, the amount of our debt and the limitations imposed by the covenants in the agreements governing our debt, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of activision blizzard’s most recent annual report on form 10-k as amended, and our quarterly report on form 10-q for the quarter ended september 30, 2013. the forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to activision blizzard as of the date of this release, and activision blizzard assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. although these forward-looking statements are believed to be true when made, they may ultimately prove to be incorrect. these statements are not guarantees of the future performance of activision blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. inventories, net software development amortization and write-off of capitalized software development costs and intellectual property licenses (1) amortization of debt discount and debt financing costs tax payment related to net share settlements on restricted stock rights net cash used in financing activities net increase in cash and cash equivalents 880 1 ttm represents trailing twelve months. operating cash flow for the three months ended december 31, 2011, three months ended september 30, 2011, three months ended june 30, 2011, and three months ended march 31, 2011 was $850 million, $46 million, $(78) million, and $134 million, respectively. capital expenditures for the three months ended december 31, 2011, three months ended september 30, 2011, three months ended june 30, 2011, and three months ended march 31, 2011 was $25 million, $29 million, $14 million, and $4 million, respectively. 2 activision blizzard, inc. and subsidiaries cost of sales - product costs cost of sales - online subscriptions cost of sales - software royalties and amortization cost of sales - intellectual property licenses product development sales and marketing general and administrative total costs and expenses operating income net income basic earnings per share diluted earnings per share year ended december 31, 2013 cost of sales - product costs cost of sales - online subscriptions cost of sales - software royalties and amortization cost of sales - intellectual property licenses product development sales and marketing general and administrative total costs and expenses operating income basic earnings per share diluted earnings per share the company calculates earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method which requires the allocation of net income between common shareholders and participating security holders. net income attributable to activision blizzard common shareholders used to calculate non-gaap earnings per common share assuming dilution was $602 million and $976 million for the three months and year ended december 31, 2013 as compared to total non-gaap net income of $621 million and $999 million for the same periods, respectively. cost of sales - product costs cost of sales - online subscriptions cost of sales - software royalties and amortization cost of sales - intellectual property licenses product development sales and marketing general and administrative total costs and expenses operating income basic earnings per share diluted earnings per share year ended december 31, 2012 cost of sales - product costs cost of sales - online subscriptions cost of sales - software royalties and amortization cost of sales - intellectual property licenses product development sales and marketing general and administrative total costs and expenses operating income net income basic earnings per share diluted earnings per share the company calculates earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method which requires the allocation of net income between common shareholders and participating security holders. net income attributable to activision blizzard inc. common shareholders used to calculate non-gaap earnings per common share assuming dilution was $870 million and $1,322 million for the three months and year ended december 31, 2012 as compared to total non-gaap net income of $891 million and $1,350 million for the same periods, respectively. 79 83 13 12 8 5 100 % 100 % reconciliation to consolidated operating income and consolidated income before income tax expense: 67 % 62 26 32 100 % 100 % reconciliation to consolidated operating income and consolidated income before income tax expense: reflects fees and other expenses related to the repurchase of 429 million shares of our common stock from vivendi (the "purchase transaction") completed on october 11, 2013 and related debt financings. trailing twelve months amounts are presented as calculated. therefore, the sum of the four quarters, as presented, may differ due to the impact of rounding. 4,000 excluding the impact of: 600 0.15 0.76 excluding the impact of: (0.10 0.11 0.01 the per share adjustments are presented as calculated, and the gaap and non-gaap earnings (loss) per share information is also presented as calculated. the sum of these measures, as presented, may differ due to the impact of rounding.
