Top Chinese MMO Operator Shanda Reports Increased Revenue, Profits

Chinese MMO operator Shanda Interactive, one of the biggest in the region, saw an overall 25 percent increase year-on-year in the quarter ending March 31, with its games division responsible for the bulk of its revenues and profits. Its company-wide revenue was reported at around $248.7 million for the quarter, up 25 percent year-over-year and 7 percent from last quarter. Revenue from its games division represented around $191 million of that figure, itself up 10 percent year-over-year. Profits were also up at the company: the $144.9 million it brought in during the quarter is a 12 percent increase from that of a year ago. Shanda Games was responsible for the majority of that figure at $116 million, an increase of 13 percent. Shanda is a major contributor to a Chinese online game market that hit $5 billion last year. Digi-Capital managing director Tim Merel recently said could dominate the global games market in the near future. As of February 28, Shanda had 29 MMORPGs and 7 casual games in operation, with 18 more in the pipeline. Its catalog is split about evenly between original games and licenses, which include NCSoft's Aion, THQ's Company of Heroes, SNK's The King of Fighters and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV and Championship Manager.