Video-game publisher Electronic Arts, known for titles such as FIFA and Star Wars Battlefront, reported first-quarter revenue that beat analysts’ estimates, helped by higher downloads of its games.
The high-margin digital business, where players download digital versions of games, also helped EA post an adjusted profit for the quarter, compared with a loss that the company had forecast.
The company’s shares rose 2.5% in extended trading on Tuesday.
“Our digital business drove this quarter, particularly outperformance from FIFA Ultimate Team on console and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes on mobile,” Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said in a statement.
EA’s (EA) adjusted revenue fell 1.6% to about $682 million in the first quarter ended June 30. Analysts on average were expecting $650.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters.
On an adjusted basis, EA earned seven cents per share. The company had forecast a loss of five cents per share.
Adjusted sales from EA’s digital business rose 6.8% to about $568 million and accounted for 83.3% of total revenue.
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EA forecast a loss of 17 cents per share and revenue of about $915 million for the current quarter.
Starting from this quarter, EA will stop reporting non-GAAP measures that adjust for deferred revenue, as it has done since fiscal 2008, to comply with stricter guidelines by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
