Shares of Jamdat Mobile Inc. soared Friday after the mobile content provider reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and offered bullish projections for the rest of the year.
Jamdat, which develops and publishes mobile games and other content, netted $2.7 million, or 13 cents per share, in the first quarter on revenues of $15.1 million. During the same period last year, the company made a $700,000 profit, or 17 cents per share, on $7 million in sales.
Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $3.6 million, or 17 cents a share. Analysts expected earnings of 13 cents a share on revenues of $15 million.
Investors welcomed the news, which came after Thursday’s closing bell, as stock of the Los Angeles-based publisher shot up 32 percent, to $23.17, in mid-day trading on the Nasdaq.
Jamdat made news in April when it acquired the highly coveted mobile rights to “Tetris” by purchasing rival publisher Blue Lava Wireless for $137 million in cash and stock. The acquisition is expected to boost Jamdat’s 2005 earnings by 10 cents a share.
During the quarter, Jamdat also acquired Downtown Wireless, a publisher of casino-themed games.
“We are very pleased with our strong first-quarter results, which continued to exceed our expectations,” said Mitch Lasky, Jamdat’s chief executive officer. “Our recent acquisitions of Blue Lava Wireless and Downtown Wireless further position us as the global leader, by revenue and profitability, in the rapidly growing wireless entertainment industry.”
