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Activision Blizzard Announces Record 4Q and Full Year Earnings per Share

In a press release sent to Gaming Cypher, Activision Blizzard announced its record fourth quarter and full year earnings per share.

Exceeds Outlook for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2014

Achieved More Than 50% Non‐GAAP Earnings Per Share Growth and
Double‐Digit Non‐GAAP Revenue Growth in 2014

Digital Revenues At All‐Time High, Representing 46% of Full Year Non‐GAAP Revenues

Generated Operating Cash Flow of $1.3 Billion in 2014

Announces Two‐Year Stock Repurchase Plan of $750 Million and Debt Paydown of $250 Million
Increases Cash Dividend By 15% to $0.23 Per Common Share

Activision Blizzard Announces Record 4Q and Full Year Earnings per Share

Santa Monica, CA – February 5, 2015 – Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced record fourth quarter and full year earnings per share. *Prior outlook was provided by the company on November 4, 2014 in its earnings release For calendar year 2014, Activision Blizzard delivered record non‐GAAP earnings per diluted share of $1.42, as compared with $0.94  per diluted share for 2013. On a GAAP basis, the company delivered record earnings per diluted share of $1.13, as compared with $0.95  per diluted share for 2013.

For calendar year 2014, Activision Blizzard delivered non‐GAAP net revenues of $4.81 billion, as compared with $4.34 billion for 2013. On a GAAP basis, the company delivered net revenues of $4.41 billion, as compared with $4.58 billion for 2013. For the calendar year, non‐GAAP net revenues from digital channels were $2.20 billion and represented a record 46% of the company’s total net revenues. On a GAAP basis, for the calendar year 2014, net revenues from digital channels were $1.90 Fourth  quarter

 Selected Business Highlights:

 In North America and Europe combined, Activision Publishing was the #1 retail publisher and had three of the top five best‐selling new releases for the calendar year — #1 Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare, #3 Destiny, and #5 Skylanders® Trap Team.
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 Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was the #1 top‐selling console game globally for the calendar year.3 Additionally, in 2014, Call of Duty was the #1 franchise in North America for the sixth year in a row.4 Call of Duty franchise revenues now exceed $11 billion in retail sales worldwide since it first launched in 2003.5Activision Blizzard Announces Fourth Quarter and CY 2014 Financial Results
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 Activision Publishing’s Destiny was the most successful launch of a new video game franchise in history.2 Destiny was also the #1 top‐selling new video game IP and the #3 top‐selling new release in North America and Europe, combined, for the calendar year.2 To date, Destiny has more than 16 million registered users and active players are playing the game an average of over three hours per day.

 Activision Publishing’s Skylanders Trap Team was the #1 top‐selling kids console game globally for the calendar year. For the third consecutive year, Skylanders was the #1 kids video game franchise of the year in the U.S., and globally.3

 At BlizzCon® on November 7, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment announced a new intellectual property, Overwatch™ — a highly accessible multi‐player game featuring an amazing cast of heroes and set in an all‐new Blizzard game universe.

 On November 13, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment launched Warlords of Draenor™, the fifth expansion for the #1 subscription‐based MMORPG in the world, World of Warcraft®. The expansion sold‐through more than 3.3 million copies as of the first 24 hours of its availability and helped drive World of Warcraft to more than 10 million global subscribers at the end of 2014.

 On December 8, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment launched Goblins vs Gnomes™, the first expansion for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The release of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft on Android tablets followed on December 15, 2014.

Company Outlook:

On January 11, 2015, Activision Publishing and Tencent launched a public open beta for Call of Duty® Online, making the game available to millions of Chinese gamers. The open beta marks a historic first for the Call of Duty series as it expands into the world’s largest gaming market. On January 13, 2015, Blizzard Entertainment began the closed beta test for Heroes of the Storm™, its upcoming free‐to‐play online team brawler featuring iconic heroes from more than 20 years of Blizzard gaming history. To date, more than nine million players have signed up to beta test the game.

On January 27, 2015, Activision Publishing launched the first DLC for Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare – Havoc, available first on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft for Xbox One and Xbox 360. The DLC offers four new multi‐player maps, exclusive weapon, custom weapon variant and a new zombies cooperative mode called Exo Zombies. In January 2015, Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft reached more than 25 million registered players.  Activision Blizzard Announces Fourth Q.

Related: Activision Delivers Top Global Games of 2014

Source: Press Release

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