TRADING AND RELEASE SCHEDULE UPDATE
Copyright 2003 Eidos Interactive Press Release

[ January 21st 2003 ]

Eidos Plc, one of Europe’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, today reports a robust performance during the Christmas trading period, due in particular to continued strong sales of the pillar titles Hitman 2 and TimeSplitters 2, whose combined sales to date are 2.9 million units. On 6 March the Company will announce its results for the six months ended 31 December 2002, and in respect of which the Company expects to move into profit at the half year. A strong sales contribution from the North American market represented in excess of 45% of H1 sales, up from 34% for the 15 months reported to 30 June 2002.

The retail discounting that has occurred in certain markets over the Christmas period has not adversely affected the Company’s margins. The Board is also pleased to report a continuing strong cash position with a positive cash flow in the period leading to a net cash balance of c.£50 million as at 31 December 2002¹. Prudent management of the cost base continues.

The Company has a very strong line-up of releases scheduled for the second half of the financial year, including Praetorians, the 3D strategy game, which has already received favourable media previews, will be released on PC format towards the end of February. Championship Manager 4, the next edition of the critically acclaimed Championship Manager series, will be released on PC by the end of March. The later release has enabled the Company to include a new match play engine to further enhance the game play experience.

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, the next instalment of one of the games industry’s strongest franchises, will now launch exclusively on PS2 (for video game consoles) and PC early in the fourth quarter of this financial year. Significant progress has been made in the final stages of development. Management believe that the game will benefit from continued game play enhancement, which will require further time. The Board remains confident in the opportunity to exploit fully this key franchise.

Given the expected performance in the first half of the financial year and the strong second half release schedule of pillar titles, the Board remains confident that the Company will meet current market expectations for the year to 30 June 2003. CEO, Mike McGarvey, said: "We are very pleased to be returning the Company to profitability based on the success of our ever expanding games portfolio combined with the benefits of an aggressive cost reduction programme which we have undertaken.

"Looking forward, we have a strong line-up of new releases for the second half and are optimistic about the potential for our business to continue to deliver improved performance. Whilst the release of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness has been delayed, we believe that the game will benefit substantially from the marketing of the new Lara Croft movie, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, scheduled to be released this summer."