Electronic Arts Reports Doubling of Profit

Electronic Arts Inc., the world’s largest video game publisher, more than doubled its profit on a small increase in revenue as the company focused on managing costs and developing more products internally.

Redwood City-based EA posted net income of $18 million, or 12 cents a share, on revenue of $353 million in its first quarter ended June 30, compared with net income of $7.4 million, or 5 cents, on revenue of $332 million last year.

The company sold more than 1 million copies each of “Def Jam Vendetta,” “NBA Street” and “The Sims Superstar Expansion Pack.”

“Given that this was the toughest quarter of the year, it’s a huge performance,” said Stewart Halpern, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. Analysts had expected sales of $337 million and earnings of 2 cents a share.

EA shares, which gained $2 to $77.66 in regular Nasdaq trading, retreated to $76.59 in after-hours trading after the announcement.

“The stock ran up in the final hours of trading, driven by people looking for a large upside,” said David Pearl, a Steinberg Priest Capital Management portfolio manager who owns EA shares. “But the stock is still up $1 for the day.”

To control costs, EA in recent months has beefed up its internal studios rather than relying on contract developers. It had 4,017 employees at the end of June, up from 3,501 a year ago. EA executives said the move has paid off in greater efficiency and has eliminated the need to pay royalties to contractors.

The company raised its profit forecast more than 50% for the fiscal year to between $3.25 and $3.40 a share but kept its sales projection the same at $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion.