Profits at Cork-based arm of Blizzard up 30% to €3.5m

Pre-tax profits at a Cork-based subsidiary of the global online games giant Blizzard Entertainment that recently announced the loss of 200 jobs at its Cork base increased by 30% to €3.5m in 2010.

Accounts filed by Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Ltd reveal that the company increased its pre-tax profits after its revenues increased by 30% from €30.9m to €40.2m in the 12 months to the end of Dec 2010.

Earlier this year, the company’s US parent, Activision Blizzard, announced the loss of 200 jobs of the almost 900-strong workforce at its European customer support centre in Cork.

The figures show that the numbers employed by Blizzard Entertainment Ltd at the end of December 2010 stood at 840 — an increase on the 703 employed 12 months earlier.

The filings show that the company’s staff costs increased by 29% from €25.2m to €32.7m in 2010. According to the directors’ report, “the directors are satisfied with the performance of the company for the financial year”.

It goes on: “The company continues to grow the portfolio of services provided to other Blizzard Entertainment group companies.”

The directors state that the company’s increased profits “reflect continued growth in business during the year”.

Blizzard is responsible for some of the world’s biggest-selling games, including blockbuster hits such as Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

Its World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Expansion, which launched in Dec 2010, sold over 3.3m copies worldwide during its first 24 hours of release, and over 4.7m in its first month.

Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Ltd’s profits in 2010 resulted in accumulated profits of €5m at the end of the year. The company’s shareholder funds stood at €7m.

The figures show that the firm’s profit in 2010 took into account depreciation costs of €768,209.

Blizzard, founded in 1991, is one of the world’s largest developers of video and online games.

It established its European customer support centre at the Blackpool Retail Centre in Cork in 2007.

Accounts for a separate Irish-based Activision Blizzard firm show that pre-tax profits at Activision Blizzard Entertainment Ireland increased by 7% from €660,833 to €708,052 in 2010.

This follows the company’s revenues increasing from €7.3m to €7.6m. The principal activity of the company is quality assurance and localisation of multi-media entertainment software on behalf of Activision Blizzard worldwide.

Numbers employed by the firm increased by five to 99 with staff costs last year totalling €3.2m. The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €317,070. Its shareholder funds stood at €4.2m.