EA still in the game despite losses rising at Irish subsidiary

The Irish arm of videogame publisher Electronic Arts (EA) recorded a sharp jump in losses last year even as turnover rose 4 per cent to €24.4 million.

Newly filed accounts for Electronic Arts Ireland Limited show pre-tax losses jumped from €11,000 to €301,000 in the 12 months to the end of March.

EA is the second-largest gaming company behind Activision Blizzard. The Californian-headquartered firm is behind a number of well-known games for consoles and PCs, including popular franchises such as Battlefield, Command and Conquer, The Sims, Medal of Honor, the FIFA football series and Need for Speed.

The Irish subsidiary, which has an office in Galway and a data centre in Dublin, is principally involved in customer support and network hosting for computer games.

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A breakdown of turnover for the unit shows €16.4 million in revenue derived from Europe with a further €8.06 million coming from the United States.

Staff costs

During the year, €1.68 million was recognised as an expense in the profit and loss account in respect of operating leases.

The company employs 387 people with staff costs having risen to €16.6 million last year, as against €14.5 million in 2015. Directors’ remuneration rose to €341,000 from €211,000 a year earlier.

Last year the company received a €496,000 employment grant from IDA Ireland, the accounts show.

EA earlier this week estimated that third-quarter adjusted revenue would total $2 billion (€1.7 billion). It also raised its full-year adjusted revenue forecast to $5.15 billion from previously stated $5.10 billion (€4.3 billion).

The company’s revenue rose nearly 7 per cent to $959 million (€826 million) in the quarter.