Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Softwaresaid after U.S. markets closed Monday that its third-quarter loss narrowed as its provision for income taxes declined sharply.
Take-Two shares gained more than 5 percent Tuesday.
GRAND THEFT AUTO
For the quarter that ended July 31, the company reported a loss of $58.5 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with a loss of $91.4 million, or $1.29 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding restructuring and tax-related items, Take-Two posted a loss of 64 cents per share, compared with a loss of 27 cents per share in the prior year's third quarter.
Take-Two's revenue declined year over year to $206.4 million from $241.2 million. The company said its sales in the third quarter of 2006 were aided by strong sales of its Grand Theft Auto games, one of which was released for the PlayStation2 console in June 2006.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial anticipated a loss of 80 cents per share on revenue of $200.6 million.
The company's operating expenses declined during the period to $95.2 million, compared with $104.1 million in the same quarter last year.
The company also had a much smaller provision for income taxes than it did in the year-ago quarter -- $2.2 million, compared with $45.6 million in the third quarter of 2006. The year-ago period included a $59.5 million allowance for tax deferred assets the company didn't realize.