EA Q4

Electronics Arts' reports a 54 percent drop in fourth quarter net income. Though fourth quarter revenues were up a modest five percent from last year's fourth quarter, to $294.3 million this year, falling game prices and operating losses at two new acquisitions pulled down earnings. The company is reporting that earnings totaled $10.8 million, before expenses of $4.2 million and charges of $6.5 million related to the acquisitions of Kesmai and Dreamworks. These results mark the first quarther of the new EA.com tracking stock, and the Internet subsidiary posted an encouraging 46 percent jump in revenues, to $6.8 million, though operating losses still came in at $13.3 million. EA is eyeing an end to the sagging games market with the coming of the next-generation consoles. "Looking ahead, the transition from the current slate of console platforms to next generation technology presents a challenging market environment but we are very excited about the opportunities," said EA's Larry Probst, "We continue to focus on being the leading third party publisher on PlayStation 2, with more than 20 products currently in development."