Vivendi reports first half 2009 revenues & earnings

Below is the portion of Vivendi’s earnings report that pertains to Activision Blizzard.  Check after the break for link to the full report.

Vivendi’s Business Units: Comments on First Half 2009 Revenues and EBITA

Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard2 reported better than expected results driven by Call of Duty and Guitar Hero franchises as well as World of Warcraft. During a challenging economic climate, Activision Blizzard was the #1 U.S. third-party console and handheld publisher3. For the first half of 2009, Activision Blizzard had two of the top-five best-selling titles in the U.S.A and Europe – Guitar Hero World Tour and Call of Duty: World at War.

In IFRS, Activision Blizzard’s revenues were €1,493 million and EBITA was €373 million. EBITA notably includes the positive impact of the change in deferred margin which amounted to €245 million ($331 million). As of June 30, 2009, the deferred margin stock amounted to €261 million.

For the 2009 calendar year on a non-GAAP basis4, Activision Blizzard is re-affirming its earnings per diluted share outlook of $0.63 but has adjusted its outlook for net revenues from $4.8 billion to $4.5 billion. Revenue guidance was modified as a result of moving the anticipated releases of Singularity and StarCraft II to 2010 in addition to lower market expectations. However, the revenues will be offset in part by stronger-than-expected performance of a few higher margin titles, as well as online revenues, better than expected synergy savings, and a lower effective tax rate.

Before the end of the year, Activision Blizzard will release its strongest video game slate ever based on some of the industry’s most successful franchises, including Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, Band Hero and Tony Hawk: RIDE.

On July 31, 2009, Activision Blizzard’s Board of Directors authorized an increase of $250 million to the company’s stock repurchase program bringing the total to $1.25 billion. As of June 30, 2009, Activision Blizzard had purchased approximately 64 million shares ($668 million) in total and Vivendi had a 56.06% non-diluted ownership interest in Activision Blizzard.

Read the full report here (pdf)

-Justin