GameStop Ireland Records Losses Of $3.9M

The Irish arm of GameStop, the world's largest video game software retailer, recorded pretax losses of €3 million ($3.9 million) in the year ending January 30, 2010 according to documents recently filed with the Companies House. The Irish Times reports that the results for the Dublin-based GameStop Group Ltd, which has 55 outlets across the State, contrasted with pretax profits of €2.86 million ($3.79 million) in the previous year, as revenues fell by 16 percent to €67.9 million ($90.2 million) from €81.3 million ($108 million). Despite the downturn, the Group's directors remain upbeat, stating in a company report: “both the level of business and the year-end financial position were considered satisfactory in the light of the current economic downturn and the life cycle stage of the current generation of computer consoles”. The directors added that the losses may have been incurred due to a lack of new hardware over the course of the year, saying: “the key business risks and uncertainties affecting the group are considered to be related to product availability and supply and the life cycle status of game formats”. GameStop employed 430 people in Ireland in the Group's 2009-2010 financial year, an increase of 29 on the previous 12 month period, with employment costs rising 5 percent to €8.5 million ($11.29 million) as a result.