Take-Two bookings up 53% to $1.5 billion in September quarter, but lower outlook

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Take-Two Interactive said its bookings increased 53% to $1.5 billion in the second fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30.

During the quarter, the New York-based company saw continued sales of Grand Theft Auto V, a hit game launched in 2013, as cumulative sales reached 170 million. However, the company lowered its guidance for the current fiscal third quarter ending Dec. 31 (the largest fourth calendar quarter) and for the full fiscal year as it is wary of macroeconomic and geopolitical events.

The company said it saw healthy player engagement in the quarter, driven by new game releases, post-launch content updates, and updates to many mobile titles, although consumers continued to weather the effects of macroeconomic and geopolitical upheavals in FY2.

Net bookings were in line with Take-Two's own forecast, but were slightly lower than the $1.52 billion analysts had expected, according to Zacks. Take-Two said Grand Theft Auto V sales exceeded its expectations in the quarter. Currency exchange rates negatively impacted net bookings by 1%.

“We delivered another consecutive quarter of strong results, with net bookings of $1.5 billion, underscoring our ability to launch exciting new games and content updates across our portfolio,” said Strauss Zelnick, president and CEO of Take-Two, in a statement. “We continue to make excellent progress with our integration of Zynga, and we remain very optimistic about the vast long-term growth potential of the mobile industry, which is expected to reach more than $160 billion in gross bookings over the next few years. next four years."

He added, "We now expect to achieve net bookings of $5.4 billion to $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2023. Our reduced guidance reflects changes in our pipeline, fluctuations in exchange rate and a more cautious view of the current macro environment, particularly in mobile.Despite these headwinds and their effect on our outlook for the year, we remain very confident in our diverse and extensive development pipeline which we believe will deliver consecutive years of growth and record performance Take-Two has a proven strategy and a track record of consistent success, guided by our core principles: We aspire to be the most creative, innovative and efficient entertainment company in the world. world. As we strive to take advantage of the many opportunities available to us, we are committed to creating significant long-term value for our actions. naries."

During an analyst call and our interview, Zelnick said he expects another three to six months of economic pressure from the broader economy, although he expressed this by saying, "That's just one person's opinion." He noted that the company has one of the strongest pipelines in the video game industry.

“We call it what we see it and we are known for it,” he added.

He also said that the company has faced delays with titles in the past and is always focused on quality. He said the company has a reputation as a "success machine".

During the period, recurring consumer spending grew 76% and accounted for 80% of net bookings. NBA 2K and Rollic's hyper-casual mobile wallet (acquired after buying Zynga for $12.7 billion earlier this year) beat the company's plans, while Take-Two saw some sweetness in other parts of its portfolio as the interactive entertainment industry faced continued headwinds. Zelnick in our interview, this is part of the reason the company has lowered its expectations for fiscal year 3 and the full year.

Net bookings delivered digitally grew by 62% and accounted for 94% of the total. During the quarter, 73% of console game sales were made digitally, compared to 65% last year.

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