THIS SHARE IS VOLATILE TO SAY THE LEAST BUT IS THERE A QUICK PROFIT IN IT.


11.41AM THURSDAY 10.3.05
Eidos warns on FY after first half losses UPDATE
AFX


(Updating with chairman comments)

LONDON (AFX) - Computer games firm Eidos PLC posted a large loss at the interim stage and said full year numbers will take a hit from the delayed release of certain titles.

The company, which said it was up for sale last year, recorded pretax losses for the six months to Dec 31 2004 of 28.7 mln stg compared to profits of 7.8 mln a year earlier. Sales dropped to 31.5 mln stg compared to 78.7 mln last time.

Eidos saw its shares slump yesterday amid fears that potential buyers would be deterred by a profit warning, but said today it has received a possible cash offer at 53 pence per share, although there is no certainty an offer will be made.

'As these results show, the first half has been a very difficult period for

Eidos,' said chairman John van Kuffeler.

'Although we had expected to report an operating loss in the first half

given the release schedule, this has been exacerbated by the deferral of the PC

version of Championship Manager 5 as anticipated, and the disappointing

performance of some of the other titles released.'

The release of Lara Croft Tomb Raider and Hitman: Blood Money, together with 25 to Life and Just Cause has been moved out of the last quarter of this financial year and into the financial year to June 2006.

'On the positive side, we have been pleased with the performance of ShellShock: Nam '67 and with the good reviews received for Project: Snowblind which forms part of a strong residual release line up for the remainder of FY2005 including Championship Manager 5, LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, Imperial Glory and Commandos Strike Force.

'In the absence of a successful conclusion to the strategic review, the outlook for Eidos as an independent company remains challenging and the strategic decision to defer the release of certain titles to FY06 will have a significant impact on the expected results for the current financial year as a whole.'

The second half release line-up, in addition to Project: Snowblind and

Championship Manager 5, will now comprise: LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game which is on track for third quarter release as well as Imperial Glory and Commandos

Strike Force which are scheduled for release in the fourth quarter.

bam

Eidos seems to be increasing day by day. This might be a good buy.