Lack of Q1 releases causes drop in Perfect World profits

Major Chinese MMO maker Perfect World saw a dip in profits for the first quarter of the current fiscal year, although it put this down to the Chinese New Year, and a lack of new releases. The company's financial results softened as it focused its efforts on enhancing existing games, and readying itself for upcoming game launches during the remaining fiscal year, it said. Perfect World's CFO Kelvin Lau also noted that the Chinese New Year meant that there were less gamers playing Perfect World titles -- hence, the company reduced its number of promotional activities in accordance. However, the company is currently working on a variety of upcoming titles, including Swordsman Online, Saint Seiya Online, Heaven Sword, Dragon Saber and Return of the Condor Heroes, all due to be released during this fiscal year. Michael Chi, CEO of Perfect World, mentioned the company's newly acquired U.S. division Cryptic Studios, which is currently working on a new title in the Neverwinter franchise, amongst other projects. He said that Perfect World hopes to strengthen its global operational capabilities during the rest of the fiscal year through its global network of subsidiaries and partners. For the quarter ended March 31, 2012, Perfect World posted revenues of 718.5 million Chinese yuan ($113.0 million), equal to the revenue made in the first quarter of the last fiscal year, and profits of 209.8 million Chinese yuan ($33.0 million), down compared to 263.7 million Chinese yuan ($41.5 million) year-over-year.