Oasys Mobile Reveals Losses, Trims Workforce

Mobile Entertainment company Oasys Mobile, headed up by former Sega (and Sony) luminary Bernie Stolar, announced quarterly losses of over $5 million earlier today. Revenue during quarter rose slightly to $2.12 million, compared to $2.06 million the year previous, but net losses rose dramatically to $5.28 million, compared to a loss of $1.09 million last year. The company announced that it was cutting its workforce and fulltime contractors by nearly one fourth - from 70 to 50 - in order to "reduce personnel expenses by $250,000 per quarter," and were the result of "extensive operational review", according to Stolar. The company's relationship with Sports illustrated expired in March of this year, and was singled out by Stolar as the primary reason for the flat results. "During the third quarter, we continued to see growth in our applications business with our new product launches, although total revenues increased only slightly over the third quarter of 2005 due to the conclusion of our relationship with Sports Illustrated in March 2006. Excluding the Sports Illustrated revenue generated in last year's third quarter, revenue rose more than 29% on a year-over-year basis, reflecting the strength of the numerous other products we launched in 2006 through our carrier relationships," Stolar said in a statement. He continued, "In addition, it is important to note that revenues grew approximately 17% over the second quarter of 2006. We continue to launch new products, particularly games, continue our expansion internationally, and introduce new distribution channels." Oasys CEO Gary Ban resigned on Oct. 5, with Stolar, as lead director, taking over management. A permanent replacement for Ban has not been named.