Activision nets US$ 1.48 billion in third quarter of fiscal 2008

Numbers are in, and Activision has more than a few reasons to be proud about its third quarter of fiscal 2008 financial report. Thanks to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock,  Activision experienced substantial growth in revenue and it took top honors in software sales. More details at the full article.

Activision just released its record financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2007, and unsurprisingly, numbers are steep mostly due to smash hits Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero 3. Net revenue reached US$ 1.48 billion, a whopping 80% from $824.3 million of the same period last year.

Net revenue in Activision’s first three quarters or the nine-month period of the fiscal year totalled US$ 2.3 billion, allowing it to to become the number one video game publisher in the U.S. Furthermore, Chairman and CEO of Activision Robert Kotick pointed out that their first nine months of the fiscal year has already resulted in their “16th consecutive year of revenue growth and record operating margins.”

The big quarter for Activision was marked by unrivaled success of certain titles it published. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare took sales charts as the most popular game of 2007 after selling more than seven million copies, while its PC version is the number one PC game in units and dollars in the U.S. and Europe for the quarter.

Acquisition of the Guitar Hero franchise proved to be successful, as Activision set an industry record of US$ 1 billion in North American retail sales in just 26 months. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock earned the most money in 2007 worldwide, while it’s the number one best-selling video game in units and dollars of all time in a single year In the U.S.

Movie tie-ins also worked, as Spider-Man 3 became the number one movie-based video game in dollars worldwide for 2007. Shrek The Third and Transformers: The Game were also credited for earning Activision some greenbacks, but Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground was nowhere in sight.

Kotick noted that the merger with Vivendi Games is well on its way, which will lead to the creation of “the worldÂ’s largest and most profitable independent video game company” with the “most diverse portfolio of entertainment assets in the industry.”