Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) reported Q2 numbers yesterday, and they show that the company remains a work in progress.
Net sales decreased roughly 23% to $205.4 million. The net loss remained the same as last year's quarter, coming in at $0.71 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, however, the net loss improved to $0.41 per stub versus $0.52 per share in 2006.
Sure, losses do occur in the video-game industry. Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) recently gave investors a splotch of red ink to read. The difference is, however, that the top-line growth rate at Activision was excellent at 66%.
Take-Two is right now trying to turn itself around. It's had issues with options, it's had to deal with a terrible fiscal year, and its last quarter wasn't too exciting.
There's no way to get away from those issues and the dampening effect they should have at this point on investor enthusiasm.
So, what is Take-Two doing about all this? First and foremost, I would hope the publisher has become a better corporate citizen so shareholders won't have to suffer any additional options goofiness. Management intends to pressure operations to do better by initiating a stringent restructuring plan. It's got all the usual Wall Street buzzwords attached to it -- consolidate, realign, accountability.
Is this plan nothing more than insubstantial verbiage? It is the typical turnaround speech to be sure, but I think Take-Two is serious about placing itself on the right track. By the time Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) get to the first major price cuts of their high-end gaming consoles, Take-Two needs to be lean, mean, and healthy so that it can give its franchises the major push they need to bring in the loot.
Of course, when investors think franchises in this case, they mostly think of Grand Theft Auto. I do, too; but Take-Two has a sports-game business as well, and it enjoyed quite a bit of success with the fantasy epic The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The publisher has also used its edgy buzz to launch Bully.
Where Take-Two has really failed is in putting together a proper, cohesive strategy for the Nintendo platforms. In fact, CEO Ben Feder was asked about it during the conference call. As all video-game investors know, Nintendo is having no trouble at all moving both its DS handheld device and Wii console through retail channels. Ensuring a steady flow of software on these systems would help improve Take-Two's growth potential and top-line figure. Feder did agree that this issue needs to be addressed, and that going forward, its 2K and Rockstar development studios will be focused on improving this area.
And for those worrying about whether the PlayStation 3's lackluster debut would spell trouble for sales in terms of the new Grand Theft Auto, Feder made an interesting remark -- he believes it will be a killer-app game that will drive increased adoption of the unit. I think there is merit to that statement. The series has an extremely devoted fan base, so it could indeed act as a positive catalyst for Sony's high-priced debacle.
Take-Two doesn't have as impressive a pipeline as Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) or THQ (NASDAQ:THQI), and that is a disadvantage. Right now, though, the big focus is on fixing the internal financial chaos that has taken root. As we get closer to the next release in the Grand Theft Auto series, shareholders should keep an eye on how the restructuring is faring. For this moment in time, Take-Two isn't the preferred avenue to play the video-game arena.
More Takes on Take-Two:
- Foolish Forecast: Take-Two's Turnaround Game Plan
- Take-Two and Call Me in the Mourning
- A Bully in Your Portfolio
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Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Activision. As of this writing, he was ranked 7,491 out of 30,066 ranked investors in the Motley Fool CAPS system. Don't know what CAPS is? Check it out. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
