U.S. Sales Help Codemasters In Record Year

Officials from British publisher and developer Codemasters have announced details of its full year financial results, to June 30th. They have proclaimed the past twelve months as the most successful in the company’s twenty-two year history, with sales up 38 percent. Revenues rose to £71.5 million ($149m), thanks to a 332 percent increase in dollar sales in the U.S. retail channel. Net sales in North America alone grew by 151 percent on the previous year to £17.1 million ($35m) – accounting for 20 percent of overall group sales. The company quotes NPD Group chart data which shows Codemasters as one of the top five fastest growing games companies in the U.S. Thanks to titles such as Colin McRae: DiRT and Overlord, operating profits increased by a factor of five to £5.6 million ($11.6m), while net cash flow from operating activities rose by 33 percent to £9.0 million ($18.7m). The positive results follow a new marketing and distribution agreement with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and the appointment of a new management team in Los Angeles. Codemasters has also recently invested £40.5m ($84.3m) in game design and development, an increase of over 150 percent on the previous year. This investment, which also includes online community hub Code M and casual games site Funsta.com, has been in part enabled by new investment by majority shareholders Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs. Rod Cousens, CEO of Codemasters, said: "The company has never been in a better position to innovate and grow. Codemasters has the right team and the right technology to compete on a global scale in the interactive entertainment industry. Our results demonstrate that Codemasters is firing on all cylinders."