Electronic Arts' games among US top sellers in Dec; shares rise

REUTERS - Video games maker Electronic Arts Inc's (EA.O) shares rose as much as 12 percent after a report said three of its games were among the top 10 sellers in the United States last month, raising the company's growth prospects for the year.

'Battlefield 4' was the second-highest selling game in the United States in December, while 'Madden 14' and 'FIFA 14' were fourth and ninth, according to market research firm NPD.

"Given solid December sell-through, we think EA may actually have a chance of posting a decent beat vs. guidance and consensus," Cowen and Co analyst Doug Creutz wrote in a note.

The brokerage said it was "very positive" about Electronic Arts' prospects for 2014, given strong pre-orders for the company's 'Titanfall' game, to be launched in about two months.

Activision Blizzard Inc's (NSQ:ATVI) 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' was the top selling game last month.

Electronic Arts is scheduled to report its results for the third quarter on January 28.

Analysts are expecting the company to report a profit of $1.24 per share on revenue of $1.66 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Electronic Arts raised its adjusted earnings forecast for the year ending March 2014 to $1.25 per share from $1.20 per share in October.

Analysts are expecting a full-year profit of $1.28 per share on revenue of $4.02 billion.

Electronic Arts' shares were up 12 percent at $24.11 on Friday afternoon on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)