NEW YORK (Reuters) - Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc on Thursday slashed its full-year profit forecast due to a delay in the latest "Harry Potter" video game and its stock fell 14 percent.
EA, whose popular game titles include "Rock Band" plans to cut about 6 percent of its workforce of 9,671 in response to slowing sales, after posting a quarterly loss on par with Wall Street expectations.
The company said it cut its view for fiscal 2009 earnings per share excluding special items to a range of $1.00 and $1.40, from a previous range of $1.30 to $1.70. Analysts were expecting $1.45 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
EA Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown attributed the new outlook to the decision to move the "Harry Potter" title out of this fiscal year into next year and "the dramatic strengthening of the U.S. dollar versus other currency.
"We are facing some foreign exchange headwinds," he said in an interview, adding that EA was keeping its full-year revenue forecast intact.
Last month, EA said it would push the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" game from November 2008 to coincide with the delayed release of the film of the same name by Warner Bros Pictures.
EA posted a net loss of $310 million, or 97 cents, compared with a loss of $195 million, or 62 cents per share, one year ago. Excluding special items, EA showed a loss of 6 cents per share, matching analysts expectations, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company said it would save about $50 million annually from the cost cutting action.
"Considering the slow down at retail we've seen in October, we are cautious in the short term," said Chief Executive John Riccitiello, in a statement. "Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular. "
Net revenue in the second quarter was $894 million, up about 39.7 percent from a year ago.
The company said sales were driven by its major franchises, including "Madden NFL" and new title "Spore."
EA shares fell to $23.75 from their Nasdaq close of $27.73.
(Reporting by Franklin Paul; editing by Carol Bishopric)
