Zynga revenues climb 32pc to US$321m in Q1


27 Apr 2012

Mark Pincus, Zynga's founder, CEO and chief product officer

Revenues at social games developer Zynga reached US$321m for the first quarter of 2012, marking a 32pc increase compared to the same period last year and an increase of 3pc compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.

Zynga’s online game revenue totalled US$292.8m, which is an increase of 27pc compared to the first quarter of 2011, and an increase of 3pc compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.

Advertising revenue totalled US$28.2m, which is a spike of 117pc compared to the year-ago period, and an increase of 3pc compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.

Bookings reached US$329.2m for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 15pc compared to the same time last year, and an increase of 7pc compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. Bookings measure what users pay for upfront and revenues measure how they might consume that virtual currency or those virtual goods over time, especially if they play a game for months or years, TechCrunch reported.

Zynga’s adjusted EBITDA reached US$86.8m for the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 23pc compared to the first quarter of 2011 due primarily to increased investment in developing new games. Adjusted EBITDA increased 28pc from the prior quarter. 

Net loss reached US$85.4m for the first quarter of 2012 compared to net income of US$16.8m for the year-ago period. Some US$133.9m of stock-based expense was included in the net loss for the first quarter of 2012 compared to US$14.5m of stock-based expense included in Q1 of 2011.

Non-GAAP net income totalled US$47.0m for the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 38pc compared to Q1 of 2011 and an increase of 27pc compared to the Q4 of 2011.

As of 31 March 2012, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totalled US$1.5bn, compared to US$995.6m as of 31 March 2011 and US$1.9bn as of 31 December 2011.

Cash flow from operations amounted to US$78.8m for the first quarter of 2012, compared to US$103.7m for Q1 of of 2011. Free cash flow hit US$43.8m for the first quarter of 2012, compared to US$53.4m for the year-ago period.