GameStop attributes fourth-quarter 2013 sales increase to PS4, Xbox One launches

GameStop reported total global sales of $3.68 billion in the 13-week forth-quarter of 2013, a 3.4 percent increase over the $3.56 billion reported in the 14-week fourth quarter of 2012, an increase that the company attributes to the launches of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One last November.

Consolidated comparable store sales rose 7.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year, which the company also attributes to Microsoft and Sony's console launches. The company's Q4 2013 net earnings were $220.5 million, down from $261.1 million in Q4 2012. Diluted earnings per share in Q4 2013 were $1.89, compared to $2.15 in Q4 2012.

Q4 2013 net earnings include "goodwill and asset impairment charges" totaling $28.7 million, "primarily" due to "asset impairments" and its closure of Spawn Labs, the game streaming service that GameStop acquired in 2011.

GameStop's net earnings in fiscal year 2013, which ended Feb. 1, 2014, were $354.2 million, compared to a net loss of $269.7 million in fiscal year 2012. Total global sales for fiscal year 2013 reached $9.04 billion, a 1.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2012's $8.89 billion. A 3.8 percent increase in consolidated comparable store sales compared to fiscal year 2012 was "primarily driven" by a 29.7 percent increase in new video game hardware "related to the launches of Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4."

Sales of new video game software declined 2.8 percent, while sales of pre-owned and "value products" declined 4.1 percent. According to GameStop, sales in those categories "were impacted by limited new title releases and a decrease in store traffic" until Q4 2013. Digital "receipts" increased 15.1 percent to 217.7 million on a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis. Sales of consumer electronics and mobile devices increased 51.6 percent over 2012.

GameStop estimates a growth in net income between 12 and 22 percent in fiscal year 2014.