Shanda Games' Q1 2010 Revenues Up 10% To $167.5M

Chinese online game publisher and operator Shanda Games Limited reports that its revenues for the first quarter ending March 31st reached RMB 1,143.2 million ($167.5 million), a 10 percent year-over-year increase but a 14 percent drop compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. Shanda's operating income decreased 6 percent year-over-year and 21 percent quarter-over-quarter to RMB 378.1 million ($55.4 million), and its operating margin for the first quarter of 2010 was 33.1 percent, down from 38.5 percent in Q1 2009 and 36 percent in Q4 2009. The company's MMORPG revenues from titles like The Legend of Mir II, MapleStory, and Ragnarok Online rose to RMB 1,022.9 million ($149.9 million), 8 percent above the amount reported for the same period last year. Its number of active paying accounts (APA) for MMORPGs increased 2 percent quarter-over-quarter to 9.62 million, while the average monthly revenue per active paying account, or ARPU, fell 2 percent quarter-over-quarter to RMB 35.4 ($5.18). The Shanghai-based operator's revenues from "advanced casual games" also increased 7 percent over the same period in 2009 and 48 percent over the previous quarter to RMB 93.5 million ($13.7 million). Its APA for those casual games increased 6 percent quarter-over-quarter to 1.07 million, and ARPU jumped up 39 percent quarter-over-quarter to RMB 29 ($4.25). "Our results for the first quarter were within our expectations as we worked to address the revenue decline resulting from our launch of an expansion pack for Mir II in late 2009," says Shanda Games chairman and CEO Alan Tan. He adds, "We have a strong pipeline of new games we will introduce in the second half of this year and the first half of 2011, including Dragon Nest, Hades Realm II, and Legend of Immortals. Looking forward, we will continue to build upon our strengths." "We have the largest and most diversified game portfolio in the industry, strong brand recognition, a multi-channel sourcing strategy built upon a global network of partners, and a longstanding reputation as an industry innovator. With a lineup of high-quality games that we plan to introduce in 2010 and 2011, a top management team, and a deep user base, I remain confident in our long term growth potential."