For multimedia and graphics software company Majesco Entertainment (Nasdaq: COOL), 2011 is turning out to be quite a year. Investors have a lot to be excited about.
Let's take a look at what's going on at Majesco.
The numbers game
Majesco has done pretty well in the third quarter, which is usually considered a seasonally weak period, and has outperformed many of its peers including Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), THQ (Nasdaq: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive Software (Nasdaq: TTWO). Revenue for the quarter grew 60.8% year over year and gross margin jumped to 40.7% as compared to 22.9% in the year-ago quarter. These increases were supported by an upswing in the operating income, which grew to $1.9 million from -$1.6 million in the third quarter of 2010.
Action and reaction
The surge in Majesco's top line can be attributed to the huge success of Zumba Fitness, which alone accounted for 80% of the revenue for the period. Zumba Fitness is a motion-based dance-fitness game that can be played on the Wii and Kinect. Increased sales volume of Zumba Fitness coupled with revenue from royalties and sales of accessories pushed up the top line.
Now, as we take a peek into the future, we see Majesco focusing upon the upcoming holiday season with many new projects in the pipeline. The company has been investing a lot in research and development, and it seems this move is paying off in a big way. After the very successful Zumba Fitness, it plans to launch its sequel Zumba Fitness 2, which will be complemented by the launch of other games such as Hulk Hogan's Main Event (the first full-body wrestling game), Motion Explosion! (a motion-based cheerleading competition game), Twister Mania! (where the age-old Twister game gets digitalized on the motion-based platform with some zing), and many more.
Majesco is also focusing on developing games for social networks and mobile devices and has recently acquired Quick Hit to strengthen its position in those areas. The company seems to be in good shape with a six-quarter peak cash and cash equivalent figure of $19.7 million, which it can use to build up inventories for the upcoming holiday season to meet the increased level of demand.
The Foolish bottom line
Majesco is eyeing major holidays and has some thoughtful plans to handle the dynamics of the market. With the stock trading at just 10 times earnings, the company has room to run if it continues to execute. In my opinion, the game has just begun for Majesco. What say you, Fools?
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