The US publisher revealed that it plans to cut costs by $25 million by the end of the next fiscal year, and confirmed that Lainie Goldstein is its new chief financial officer.

As revealed by MCV last week, Take 2 also confirmed that it would be making staff cuts as part of a restructuring initiative which was described as ‘significant’, according to Reuters.

While the firm declined to give a firm figure on how many of its 2,100 employees would be axed, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter estimates that it would be in the region of 200.

Doubts were also cast over the future of its Jack of all Games distribution business and its Joytech peripherals business – chief executive Ben Feder said that games publishing was now its primary focus.

Take 2 reported a second quarter net loss of $51.2 million compared with a loss of £50.4m the previous year. Revenue fell 22.5 per cent to $205.4m in the quarter ended April 30th from $265.1m a year in 2006, when sales of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion were particularly strong.

Despite the losses, the publisher said that it would break even in fiscal year 2007, before taking into account the charges related to the restructuring. The arrival of Grand Theft Auto IV in October is sure to give the firm a much needed boost later this year.