EIDOS ANNOUNCES Q1 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Copyright 2001 Eidos Interactive

[ September 20th 2001 ]

Eidos plc, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, announces results for the quarter ended 30 June 2001. Turnover: £12.2m £16.8m. Total operating loss before goodwill: £11.1m £18.6m. EBITDA: £10.6m £17.7m. Loss per share: 14.8p 14.8p. Loss per share before goodwill: 10.9p 11.0p

Commenting on these results Michael McGarvey, Chief Executive Officer, said: "In spite of reduced first quarter turnover, we have shown clear improvements in both gross margins and operating expenses in the period. The franchise titles Commandos 2: Men of Courage and "Who Wants be A Millionaire?" 2 are shipping in September with pre order levels in line with expectations. With the other key releases of our year, such as Championship Manager 01/02 and the Next Generation titles Soul Reaver II, Project Eden and Mad Dash all still to ship, we have an excellent schedule of forthcoming releases."

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT - Review of Operations - As is traditionally the case, the first quarter of our financial year has been relatively quiet with three new PC titles and the French and Junior versions of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" shipping in the period. The resulting sales mix for the quarter led to a reduction in turnover compared to the same period last year. Gross margin as a percentage of turnover has, however, increased by 12% in the quarter, rising from 46% in the same period last year, to 58% in the current period.

This improvement is as a result of lower royalty costs and improved channel management in the period. The effects of the cost reduction programme initiated at the end of the last financial year can already be seen in the 32% reduction in operating expenses (excluding amortisation of goodwill) in the quarter. In total, the fixed element of operating expenses (excluding amortisation of goodwill) has fallen 34% from £12.1m in the prior period, to £8.0m in the current year. Pre amortisation of goodwill, the total operating loss from continuing activities for the quarter has fallen from £18.6m to £11.1m. No tax credit has been provided on the loss on ordinary activities for the quarter, based on the availability of losses.

FUTURE REPORTING TIMETABLE - Following this quarterly announcement the Group will revert to publishing only Interim and Preliminary results as allowed by NASDAQ and the UK Listing Authority Rules. The Board believes that this reporting timetable is more appropriate given the seasonal nature of the Group's revenue flows and will result in a permanent reduction in administrative effort and associated costs. The Group will continue to announce key operational and financial developments as and when appropriate.

CURRENT TRADING AND FUTURE PROJECTS - The 1 for 3 rights issue announced on 31 May 2001 was successfully completed in July when 34,659,306 new ordinary shares were issued raising £51.6m, net of costs. Commandos 2: Men of Courage ships on PC later this month, together with PC and PSOne versions of "Who Wants be A Millionaire?" 2. Championship Manager 01/02 and the Group's first PS2 releases of the year, Project Eden and Thunderhawk: Operation Phoenix, will ship in October.

Further internally developed PS2 titles such as Herdy Gerdy , Soul Reaver 2 and Blood Omen 2 are all due for release in the second half of the year, when our first X-Box title, Mad Dash Racing, will also be shipping. The Board believes that the inherent quality of the Group's release schedule combined with sustainable improvements in margins and overheads will allow the Group to show further positive progress in its operating results over the course of the year. The entertainment software market has been showing encouraging signs of recovery, particularly in North America. We recognise, however, that consumer confidence in the USA and the rest of the world may be affected by the tragic events of last week.