Perfect World beats Q4 expectations thanks to MMO, overseas success

On Thursday, Chinese online game company Perfect World announced that it beats its financial estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter, with revenues driven primarily by its growing MMO catalog and its emphasis on globalization. For the quarter ended December 31, 2011, Perfect World pulled in revenues of RMB 776.4 million ($123.4 million), up 9.5 percent year over year and just ahead of its high-end expectations of RMB 737 million ($116.46 million). Gross profit, meanwhile, hit RMB 639.3 million ($101.6 million), up 8 percent from the same period in 2010. When discussing this quarterly growth, Perfect World particularly emphasized its success overseas, pointing to recently-released titles such as Empire of the Immortals in Japan and Blacklight Retribution in North America. "We generate over one-fourth of our total revenues from operating and licensing our games abroad and maintain a geographical coverage of over 100 countries and regions worldwide," said Perfect World CFO Kelvin Lau. In addition, Lau noted that Perfect World's existing titles, such as the Chinese MMO Zhu Xian, have also seen healthy growth over the last quarter, and remain some of the company's biggest contributors to its overall revenue. Looking ahead to 2012, Perfect World said it expects its first quarter revenues to fall between between RMB 714 million ($112.83 million) and RMB 753 million ($118.99 million). Alongside the financial results, Perfect World also announced that SVP Robert Hong Xiao has stepped up to assume the role of chief operating officer, and will now oversee all of the company's business efforts worldwide.