Midway Games Guides Lower
SAN FRANCISCO -- Video game publisher
Midway Games
(MWY)
warned that it will miss its financial expectations because of delays in the release of key titles this year and lower-than-expected sales of its latest game,
BlackSite: Area 51
.
For the third quarter, Midway expects to post a loss of 33 cents, wider than its previous guidance of a loss of 23 cents a share.
Excluding charges, it expects a loss of about 27 cents a share, compared to its prior estimate of 17 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a loss of 22 cents a share.
Revenue for the third quarter is likely to be $39 million, lower than its previous estimate of approximately $50 million. Analysts are expecting revenue of $51.7 million.
Midway attributed the shortfall to its decision to release its game,
Stranglehold
, for
Sony's
(SNE) - Get Report
PlayStation 3 console in the fourth quarter rather than the third quarter, and the delayed release of another title,
Unreal Tournament 3
, for the PS3 into the first quarter of fiscal 2008.
Midway also said the company is seeing
lower-than-expected sales of its latest game,
BlackSite: Area 51
because of an "adverse impact of the split shipment" between
Microsoft's
(MSFT) - Get Report
Xbox 360 and the PS3 consoles.
The European version of
BlackSite: Area 51
game for the PS3 has been delayed into the first quarter of 2008.
Shares of Midway were recently down 16 cents, or 3.7%, to $4.21 in recent after-hours trading; the stock is now trading near its 52-week low of $4.13.
For the full fiscal year 2007, Midway now expects revenue of approximately $170 million, compared to its previous guidance of approximately $225 million.
Its loss is likely to be 85 cents a share, Midway said, wider than the 44 cents a share guidance issued earlier.
Excluding charges, Midway expects a loss of approximately 66 cents a share, wider than its prior estimate of 27 cents a share.
Analysts were expecting revenue of $218.03 million and a loss of 46 cents a share.