Zynga Posts Strong Bookings on Slots, Words With Friends Games

Zynga Inc. on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter results at the top end of its expectations, driven largely by strength in its Slots and Words with Friends games, though the game developer continues to bleed users.

Zynga is still trying to find the kind of success with mobile apps that it once had on PCs, particularly in games played through Facebook like FarmVille.

The company said it is planning to launch 10 games in 2016, including the highly-anticipated Dawn of Titans title that was delayed last year. Chief Executive Mark Pincus said in an interview that the slate of releases should position the company for growth.

Still, Zynga forecast bookings of $150 million to $165 million for its current quarter, below the $172.3 million that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast. Zynga also said it expects an adjusted loss of a penny a share or for the company to break even, which would match analysts' expectations.

Meanwhile, Zynga continued to struggle with a decline in customers in its fourth quarter.

In the latest quarter, the number of people playing its games daily fell 24% to 18 million, as daily mobile users fell 14% and daily web users tumbled 49%. Monthly active users fell 30% to 68 million.

Zynga cited a lack of big new game releases.

But bookings, a measure of revenue closely watched by analysts, came in at $182.1 million, topping the $165 million to $180 million the company had forecast in November.

Zynga said both its Words with Friends and Slots franchises posted their highest quarterly bookings ever.

In all, for the period ended Dec. 31, Zynga reported a loss of $46.9 million, compared with a loss of $45.1 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were flat at five cents.

Excluding special items, Zynga broke even for the quarter on a per-share basis, at the top end of the company's forecast.

Revenue fell 3.5% to $185.8 million. Zynga had forecast revenue in the range of $170 million to $185 million for the quarter.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2016 16:35 ET (21:35 GMT)

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