Take-Two Interactive blows past estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. shares were down 2.2% premarket Tuesday, paring losses of as much as 8% made late Monday after the company said a popular videogame release has been pushed back to 2018. The company on Tuesday reported earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter that blew past analyst estimates. Take-Two said it had net income of $99.3 million, or 89 cents a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $46.4 million, or 48 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew 43% to $571.6 million from $377.2 million a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 57 cents and revenue of $355 million. The company said the biggest contributors to revenue were Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA 2K17, Mafia III, Sid Meier's Civilization VI, and XCOM(R) 2. "Consumer demand for our entertainment offerings remained exceedingly strong in the fourth quarter," Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said in a statement. As announced late Monday, Rockstar Games has moved the release of the much-anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2 to spring of 2018. "As Rockstar stated, Red Dead Redemption 2 will be their first game created from the ground up for the latest generation of console hardware, and some extra time is necessary to ensure that they deliver the best experience possible," said Zelnick. The company is still expecting fiscal 2018 sales of more than $2.5 billion, he said. For the fiscal first quarter, Take-Two is expecting revenue of $390 million to $440 million and EPS of 65 cents to 75 cents. The current FactSet consensus is for a loss per share of 19 cents and revenue of $260 million. Shares have gained 40% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.