Gameloft Q1 Sales Up 54 Percent

French-headquartered mobile game publisher and developer Gameloft has announced that it has generated consolidated sales of €22.7 million ($30.9 million) in the first quarter of 2007, up by 54% from the previous year. Across the period, Europe accounted for 44% of sales, North America 39% and the rest of the world 17%. This growth in its activity over the first three months of the year has promptrf the company to fine-tune its 2007 sales target: Gameloft is now forecasting annual sales of €95 to 100 million (versus its previous estimate of €90 to 100 million) -- an annual growth of 39 to 46%. The company is also confirming its operating margin target (excluding employee stock-based compensation) in excess of 10% for 2007. Second quarter sales are to be published July 26, 2007. Gameloft representatives attribute the sales to the large number of games released in 2006, with 45 games released in 2006 compared to just over 20 in 2005, and the success of games launched in the first quarter of 2007, such as Desperate Housewives, Lost and Real Football 2007. A representative stated, "The company's strong performance in the first quarter of 2007 shows that it is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the rapid growth in the mobile games market. The worldwide installed base of Java phones reached 1.2 billion units in 2007and is expected to double in the coming years. With its catalogue of 130 mobile games distributed by more than 170 operators around the world, Gameloft is now beginning to reap the benefits of the massive investments made in previous years." [Further coverage of mobile game news and features is available at new CMP Game Group site GamesOnDeck, from which this story is cross-posted.]