Atari Swings to Profit

Beleaguered video games publisher Atari(ATAR Quote) gained some success in its efforts to revive itself by posting a marginal second-quarter profit, though revenue continued its downward decline.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Atari said revenue fell to $28.6 million from $38.4 million a year earlier, but the results beat estimates of $29.5 million by analysts of Thomson Financial.

Net income for the second quarter was $311,000, or break-even EPS, compared with a loss of $25.2 million, or 20 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Analysts had been expecting a loss of $16.3 million, or 12 cents a share.

New York-based Atari, a unit of France-based Infogrames Entertainment, has been trying to restructure itself. On Wednesday, the company, which has been facing liquidity problems, said it has secured a three-year $15 million credit facility with Guggenheim Corporate Funding to help with its short-term working capital needs as it enters the holiday season, said David Pierce, CEO of Atari.

Piercewas placed at the helm of Atair in September in a bid to revive the company's fortunes.

Last month, the company sold its internal development studio, Shiny, to streamline its operations. It has also announced cost reduction plans and said general and administrative expenses fell 31% in the second quarter.

Shares of Atari closed flat Thursday at 50 cents.