Shanda Games (fka GAME)

[eastunder]

Shanda Games Reports First Quarter 2011 Unaudited Results

http://www.knobias.com/story.htm?eid=3.1.f6cd92e1e10d518140517cfa47d12cce64efa9e79743108963a3d19035682195

Tuesday , May 31, 2011 16:30ET

SHANGHAI, May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Shanda Games Limited ("Shanda Games", or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GAME), a leading online game developer, operator and publisher in China, today announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.


Non-GAAP Financial Highlights

-- Net revenues were RMB1,252.6 million (US$191.0 million), up 9.6% YoY and
8.7% QoQ.
-- Operating income was RMB415.5 million (US$63.4 million), up 0.5% YoY and
6.5% QoQ.
-- Net income was RMB368.5 million (US$56.2 million), up 2.8% YoY and down
12.7% QoQ. The QoQ decrease was primarily due to a decline in government
financial incentives, which totaled RMB33.2 million (US$5.1 million) in
Q1 2011, compared to RMB124.8 million in Q4 2010.
-- Earnings per diluted ADS were RMB1.30 (US$0.20), compared with RMB1.24
in Q1 2010 and RMB1.48 in Q4 2010.


GAAP Financial Highlights

-- Net revenues were RMB1,252.6 million (US$191.0 million), up 9.6% YoY and
8.7% QoQ.
-- Massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) revenues were
RMB1,092.8 million (US$166.7 million), up 8.8% YoY and 5.0% QoQ.
-- Advanced casual games revenues were RMB92.5 million (US$14.1 million),
flat YoY and up 49.4% QoQ.
-- Other revenues were RMB67.3 million (US$10.2 million), up 45.7% YoY and
35.4% QoQ.
-- Operating income was RMB350.1 million (US$53.4 million), down 7.4% YoY
and up 7.8% QoQ.
-- Net income was RMB312.9 million (US$47.7 million), down 4.9% QoQ and
14.6% YoY. The QoQ decrease was primarily due to a decline in government
financial incentives, which totaled RMB33.2 million (US$5.1 million) in
Q1 2011, compared with RMB124.8 million in Q4 2010.
-- Earnings per diluted ADS were RMB1.10 (US$0.17), compared with RMB1.14
in Q1 2010 and RMB1.30 in Q4 2010.


Operating Highlights

-- For MMORPGs, Active paying accounts (APA) increased 4.0% QoQ to 9.85
million, and average monthly revenue per active paying account (ARPU)
increased 0.9% QoQ to RMB37.0.
-- For advanced casual games, APA increased 22.0% QoQ to 0.91 million, and
ARPU increased 22.5% QoQ to RMB33.9.


"We are pleased to report solid results for the first quarter of 2011," said Mr. Alan Tan, Chairman and CEO of Shanda Games. "Our solid financial performance came in ahead of our expectations, mainly driven by the growing popularity of our recent releases such as 'Dragon Nest' and 'Hades Realm 2,' the stable performance of our legacy game series 'Mir II' and 'Woool,' as well as the strength of our other important games 'Aion' and 'Maple Story.' We are also excited by the launch of our highly-anticipated game, 'Legend of Immortals,' a few weeks ago. It is the first example of the implementation of our strategy to 'communitize' online games and has already received an overwhelming response from users. We believe these newer titles and other exciting games in our pipeline will help to further diversify our revenue base and bring down the average age of our game portfolio. At the same time, we are actively exploring opportunities in the advanced social game and social mobile game markets and expect to release the first several games in the second half of the year. In addition, we will continue to leverage our operational expertise and high quality collection of games to further expand in new and existing markets overseas.


"Looking ahead, as we continue to implement our 'All-Star, All-Platform and All-Region,' or 'Triple-A,' strategy, which revolves around solidifying and growing our game portfolio with high-quality, highly interactive games, and expand into various platforms and regions, we are confident that we are well positioned to enter into a much broader market and remain one of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the online games industry over the long term."