Annual EA losses pass $1bn

North American based publisher EA has reported a GAAP net loss of $1.088bn for the year ending March 31st 2009 – an increase of over 100 per cent compared to the $454m loss in the same period the year before.

Revenue for the period hit $4.212bn, up 15 per cent year-on-year. EA ended the year with cash and short-term investments totalling $2.2bn.

Much of the losses can be attributed to tax related charges such as a $368m non-cash charge for goodwill impairment and a $232m non-cash charge for tax valuation allowances.

For the quarter ending March 31st 2009 EA recorded a net loss of $42m, down from the $94m loss in the same period the year before. Net revenue for the period hit $860m, a decrease of $267m compared to 2008.

Rock Band 2, Left 4 Dead, Skate 2, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest and Need for Speed Undercover were all credited for impressive sales performances.

EA’s strong cost actions together with our investments in our digital service businesses will set us up for a stronger financial year 2010,” CEO John Riccitiello stated. EA is well positioned with the right strategies in a growing industry.”

The publisher now expects to post annual revenues of $4.3bn in its next fiscal year.

EA plans to up the number of titles that it will defer revenue on to include every online enabled game, the result of which will be an additional $500m of revenue in its 2011 fiscal results.