Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing time on February 7 morning news, Activision Blizzard today announced the company's fiscal year 2022 fourth quarter and full-year results. Activision Blizzard reported fourth-quarter net revenue of $2.334 billion, compared with $2.163 billion a year earlier, net booking revenue of $3.57 billion, compared with $2.49 billion a year earlier, and net profit of $403 million, down 29% from $564 million a year earlier.

Activision Blizzard's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share failed to meet Wall Street analysts' expectations, but net booked revenue beat expectations, pushing its shares up less than 1 per cent in after-hours trading.

Fourth quarter main results: Activision Blizzard's net profit for the quarter ended December 31 was $403 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, compared with the same period a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, Activision Blizzard posted net income of $564 million, or 72 cents per diluted share. Activision Blizzard had expected fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.54.

Excluding some one-time items (not in accordance with GAAP), Activision Blizzard's adjusted earnings per share in the fourth quarter were $0.78, compared with $1.01 a year earlier, which fell short of analysts' expectations. On average, 22 analysts expected Activision Blizzard to earn $1.51 a share in the fourth quarter, according to data provided by Yahoo Finance.

Activision Blizzard's fourth-quarter net revenue was $2.334 billion, compared with $2.163 billion a year earlier. Activision Blizzard had net revenue of $1.97 billion from digital channels during the quarter.

By business unit, Activision Blizzard's fourth-quarter net revenue from product sales was $721 million, compared with $645 million a year earlier, and revenue from subscription, licensing and other businesses was $1.613 billion, compared with $1.518 billion a year earlier.

Activision Blizzard's fourth-quarter net booked revenue (Net Bookings) was $3.57 billion, compared with $2.49 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations. On average, 20 analysts had expected Activision Blizzard's fourth-quarter net revenue to reach $3.16 billion, according to data provided by Yahoo Finance. Activision Blizzard had net booking revenue of $1.82 billion from in-game channels during the quarter, compared with $1.24 billion a year earlier.

Activision Blizzard made an operating profit of $368 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $682 million a year earlier. Activision Blizzard had an operating profit margin of 16% in the fourth quarter, compared with 24% when it was not adjusted in accordance with GAAP.

Activision Blizzard had operating cash flow of $1.12 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $661 million a year earlier.

Activision Blizzard's total costs and expenses were $1.966 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $14,81bn in the same period last year. Of this total, in terms of revenue cost of product sales, the product cost was $240 million, compared with $274 million in the same period last year, and the cost of software royalties, amortization and intellectual property licensing was $78 million, compared with $73 million in the same period last year. In terms of in-game, subscription and other revenue costs, game operating and distribution costs were $376 million, compared with $290 million in the same period last year, and software royalties, amortization and intellectual property licensing costs were $62 million, compared with $20 million in the same period last year.

In terms of expenditure, Activision Blizzard spent $486 million on product development in the fourth quarter, compared with $321 million in the same period last year, and $415 million on sales and marketing, compared with $299 million in the same period last year. General and administrative expenses were $309 million, compared with $174 million in the same period last year; restructuring and related expenses were zero, compared with $30 million in the same period last year.

Activision Blizzard had 389 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter, compared with 371 million in the same period last year. By department, Activision's overall monthly active users were 111 million, compared with 107 million in the same period last year; Blizzard's overall monthly active users were 45 million, compared with 24 million in the same period last year; and King's overall monthly active users were 233 million, compared with 240 million in the same period last year.

Key results for fiscal year 2022: Activision Blizzard had net revenue of $7.528 billion for the entire fiscal year 2022, compared with $8.803 billion in fiscal year 2021.

Activision Blizzard beat analysts' expectations with net revenue of $8.51 billion in fiscal 2022, compared with $8.35 billion in fiscal 2021. On average, 23 analysts expected Activision Blizzard's net revenue for fiscal year 2022 to reach $8.11 billion, according to data provided by Yahoo Finance. Activision Blizzard had net booked revenue of $5.38 billion from in-game channels in the fiscal year, compared with $5.1 billion in fiscal 2021.

Activision Blizzard posted net income of $1.513 billion in fiscal 2022, compared with $2.699 billion in fiscal 2021, and diluted earnings per share of $1.92, compared with $3.44 in fiscal 2021.

Excluding some one-time items (not in accordance with GAAP), Activision's adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2022 were $2.58, well below analysts' expectations of $4.08 in fiscal 2021. On average, 22 analysts had expected Activision Blizzard's adjusted earnings per share of $3.05 in fiscal 2022, according to data provided by Yahoo Finance.

Activision Blizzard's operating profit was $1.67 billion in fiscal 2022, compared with $3.259 billion in fiscal 2021. Activision Blizzard had an operating margin of 22 per cent in fiscal year 2022 and 30 per cent after adjustment not in accordance with US GAAP.

Activision Blizzard's operating cash flow was $2.22 billion in fiscal 2022, compared with $2.41 billion in fiscal 2021.

Microsoft acquisition: Microsoft announced on January 18, 2022 that it plans to acquire Activision Blizzard at an all-cash price of $95.00 per share. The deal has been approved by Activision Blizzard and Microsoft's board of directors, and has been approved by Activision Blizzard's board. The two sides are continuing negotiations with regulators responsible for reviewing the transaction, with the goal of completing the deal in Microsoft's fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. The deal is subject to regulatory scrutiny and other customary closing conditions.

Share price movements: Activision Blizzard shares fell $3.66, or 4.86%, to close at $71.58 in regular Nasdaq trading. Activision Blizzard shares rose 50 cents, or 70 percent, to $72.08 in after-hours trading as of 05:39 EDT on the 6th (06:39 Beijing time on the 7th). Activision Blizzard has been priced from $82.00 to $70.94 over the past 52 weeks.

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