EA grows digital sales in Q4, stems losses for fiscal year
EA enjoyed solid growth in the final quarter of its 2011 fiscal year (ending March 31), thanks in large part to a bump in digital revenue. Digital sales were up $67 million from the same period a year ago to $211 million. Good ol' boxed games weren't slouching though, as packaged goods revenue increased $44 million up to $838 million. In all, EA rebounded from its rough Q3 to record $151 million in profit during the fiscal fourth quarter.
The engine for that growth was a surprisingly impressive quarterly lineup for the company. Seven of its titles from fiscal Q4 have surpassed 1 million units shipped, with Crysis 2, Dead Space 2 and Dragon Age 2 all over the 2-million-shipped mark. DLC for those titles (like Dead Space 2's "Severed" add-on) was the cornerstone of digital profits, as well. Over its entire 2011 fiscal year, EA shipped 12 million units of FIFA 11, 7 million copies of Bad Company 2 (released at the tail end of FY10), and five million each of Medal of Honor, Hot Pursuit and Madden 11.
But it seems that, in the grand scheme, these titles weren't enough to alter EA's fortunes for the fiscal year, which ended in a $267 million loss for the company. We suppose there's still a bit of a silver lining, however -- those losses would seem to sting considerably less than the $677 million lost by EA just one year prior.
