Eidos Share Discussion Threads

[togglebrush] 11/1/2009 11:32

Of the 9 million trades on Friday ... the last one was near 3 million buy and marked NT. The two proceeding large 1 million trades were unknown and marked NT as were the remaining large trades on Barclays Digital Look system. The Help system does not explain NT trades.

Median daily trading volume since the rights issue is 276,000 (middle of a sorted sample).

It looks like someone was filling a very large order. I do not think the overhang from Robert T has yet cleared.

BBC web site in the meanwhile reports on the growth of video game industry and thta it aspires to over take all other forms of home entertainment.

Video games are set to become the most popular form of entertainment in the UK with a rise in spending up by 42%

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7709298.stm

[the crypt] 11/1/2009 11:31

lol , maybe eat an egg.

[the crypt] 11/1/2009 11:29

kooba........ lol may the posts be true............................ get on with it.

[the crypt] 10/1/2009 17:50

lol dealy..... you sir are in a play with a PORK SAUSAGE and a tube of KY.LOL LOL

[dealy] 10/1/2009 17:01

sounds to me like they are now in play

[kooba] 10/1/2009 16:24

ft lex column.



Eidos video games
Published: January 9 2009 09:47 | Last updated: January 9 2009 19:31

Not even Lara Croft can fend off this mutant economy. Eidos, the London-based video game publisher, had been relying on the buxom, pistol-toting archaeologist – star of its Tomb Raider games – to carry it through the holiday season. That was before consumer demand collapsed faster than the Great Pyramid of Atlantis in the original hit Tomb Raider game.

As a smaller video games publisher, Eidos is particularly vulnerable to the cyclical, hit-driven nature of the business. After a series of duds, Tomb Raider: Underworld, eighth in the series, has been generally well received by critics. But a weak performance in north America, where sputtering sales led retailers to cut orders and extract concessions from gamemakers in the Christmas run-up, left the company exposed. It has warned it may be forced into talks with banks over its £25m credit line if conditions do not improve.

Eidos is a frequent subject of takeover rumours and the 26 per cent drop in its share price that followed yesterday's news could tempt bigger rivals to bite. With a market capitalisation of just £34m compared with an industry average of $2.7bn, Eidos is small. Even so, it punches above its weight thanks to Tomb Raider. Eidos is also working with Time Warner, which owns 20 per cent of the group, on a new Batman game, scheduled to launch later this year.

There are only so many good story lines. A company such as Electronic Arts, which abandoned a bid to buy fellow industry heavyweight Take Two last year, might relish the opportunity to scoop up some high-profile characters at knockdown prices. The problem is that Eidos is aware of the value of its intellectual property, and has walked away from suitors before. Eidos should not be so picky this time. After all, if Lara can't save them, who says Batman can?

[togglebrush] 10/1/2009 15:28

Volume traded yesterday was 9 million which is second highest since rights issue. Highest was on 1st September @ 18 million which was for no particular reason as far as I can see.

9 million is sevral times the current median.

[the crypt] 10/1/2009 14:40

lol - eat mee pies.... may they be pork with a nice bit of crust...........lol

[life of crime] 10/1/2009 12:33

Looks like the belt tightening has started already:

[life of crime] 10/1/2009 11:24

It looks as if they are considering a revamp of TR in light of the disappointing sales of TRU. I'm not sure if making it more female friendly is the answer though; I think they need to make it more exciting and more of an adventure based game with better combat and new environments. Still, at least they recognise something has to change:



I still think they have an independent future ahead of them for the next couple of years but longer term they have to fold into a bigger outfit, as they are simply too small to survive in this industry, where one disappointing game can wreck their whole year. Fortunately, it looks as if Batman is likely to come to their rescue.

[dealy] 10/1/2009 08:58

This is what we call high operating leverage. Small changes in revenue have a huge impact on the bottom line.

Surely though the company must be valued on the likely operating profits over its life as opposed to the current financial year.

[dealy] 10/1/2009 08:56

from today's FT:

Eidos shares tumble as Lara fails to excite
By Lucy Killgren

Published: January 9 2009 09:42 | Last updated: January 9 2009 20:06

Disappointing revenues from the latest Lara Croft games title could force Eidos to seek new financing before June.

Shares in the games developer plunged 5¼p, more than 30 per cent, to 12p on Friday after it cut its sales guidance by £20m, due to dispiriting sales and heavy discounting, especially in North America.

EDITOR'S CHOICE
Lex: Eidos video games - Jan-093D games and films to launch in living rooms - Jan-05Game on for Codemasters' stock market debut - Dec-26UK studios heading off the console - Dec-03Tomb Raider: Underworld sold only 1.5m copies following its November launch. Eidos said nervous retailers in the US had restricted stock levels and offered deeper discounts than it had expected to lure shoppers into buying the latest video games.

It now expects to make revenues of between £160m and £180m this year compared with previous guidance of £180m-£200m and said it may need to talk to its banks about covenant payments due in June.

Nick Batram, analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, said a £20m drop in revenues would wipe out this year's forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £10m. Eidos has gross margins of about 50 per cent.

Other games developers, including Electronic Arts, the world's second-largest games group, have also warned on sales and profits.

Like EA, Eidos is increasingly dependent on hits, with its latest Batman game scheduled for release just before the end of its financial year in June.

[fairfax ache] 10/1/2009 05:06

I sold 100k of these babies at over 420. I no longer feel bad about missing the top :-)

Good luck to you guys with your life destroying habits.

I'm cured!

[life of crime] 09/1/2009 18:25

Well, here we go again. It looks like the risk of releasing TR at Xmas has really backfired. I agree with Darren that the timing was a bad mistake, so that has to be taken into consideration. TR is a fading rather than a dead brand and there is still the PS2 version to come. I think it may eventually clock up 2M sales, which is very disappointing rather than a disaster. If they had the common sense to release in late Sep or early Oct it may have achieved 2.5M.

TR needs a major revamp because more of the same is clearly not going to cut it. Trying to see the positive, turnover of £160-£180M shows there is still value in the business, but I fear that another change of management may be required. They also have a strong line up of proven IP this year in the form of JC, BS and CM. Batman looks like the ace in the pack and it is now imperative to get this out on time within this FY, which could well salvage things.

The line up should hopefully persuade the banks to play ball and avoid a fire sale or break up. It is not in the shareholders interests to sell at current values. We just have to hope they can plod through the recession and emerge in one piece in better times. Eidos does seem to have nine lives and have emerged from the brink before, so I hope they can do it again. With luck the institutional investors will demand a change at the top because the CEO has made a major mistake with their biggest asset. If they can get to June intact, things may look better for the future, but we will simply have to wait and see.

PS. I honestly think they should take you on as an advisor Darren, as you speak a lot more sense than any of the managers. Do you think a change of CEO would help? I still think they should have promoted the head of their US operations, Bill Gardner (if he is still there) as he was the only manager who talked a lot of sense and seemed to have a good grasp of the video game business. If he has left, he should be re-hired to replace Rogers who seems to have been promoted too early in his career.

[lionheart79] 09/1/2009 18:00

Was TW responsibly for marketing TRU in the States? Eidos UK's marketing dept is full of self-righteous, trendy-jean wearing idiots but I'm not sure we can lay much blame on them this time.

[the crypt] 09/1/2009 16:54

spin - more spins - hey masn i'm a spinning wheel.

[arc2006] 09/1/2009 16:13

I'm really angry about the trading update. It looks like it was written in five minutes. As Darren S says we would normally expect a notification of forthcoming trading update, not just a few lines bashed out without any care. How can they even mention the possibility of having to renegotiate covenants in such a lackadaisical statement. Perhaps they consider the small reduction in likely turnover and the renegotiating of covenants is not particularly bad news. The market obviously disagrees with them at this time. I'm all for transparency but surely a bit of spin wouldn't hurt?

[quidzinn] 09/1/2009 15:50

I'm in for 40k shares @ 11.835p ;)

Q

[togglebrush] 09/1/2009 15:34

New sales forecast is still well above the actual for the last 4 years. Last year £118, other 06-07was £144 million from memory. The target now £160 to £180 is well above those figures. Good European sales with € at 40% premium on last year will help margins.

Trading Statement came out as on same day last year.

Interims due 14th February or there abouts.

[queeny2] 09/1/2009 15:34

darren, it sounds from dope as though the game was deeply unexciting too ....

[the crypt] 09/1/2009 15:33

hahhahhah

Rogers is a wise man not buying hardly any shares - I guess what he was saying was - "look guys I don't have any confidence in Eidos, even though I run it" lol lol. May he eat a dozen omlettes.

[the crypt] 09/1/2009 15:15

sack the useless board!!!! lol - then we can eat our mince pies.

[the crypt] 09/1/2009 15:13

eat yer cream suckers!