Take-Two Interactive has announced its fourth-quarter and full year fiscal results for the period ended October 31. For Q4, net sales were up from $292.6 million last year to $323.4 million. Net loss meanwhile more than doubled to $15 million for the quarter. The company noted that the results include $9.3 million in stock-based compensation expense, $5.6 million in professional fees and expenses related to "unusual legal matters" and $1.6 million in business reorganization costs.

Key drivers of sales were Midnight Club: Los Angeles, NBA 2K9, Grand Theft Auto IV and Carnival Games titles. Take-Two's distribution revenue also rose year-over-year, "as current generation hardware sales were fueled by the strength of new frontline titles, along with robust demand for Wii software." Speaking of Wii, 2K Play's Carnival Games franchise, including Carnival Games (Wii, DS) and Carnival Games MiniGolf (Wii) has shipped over three million units worldwide.

Take-Two's full fiscal year was obviously boosted significantly by the blockbuster launch of GTA IV. Net revenues were up from $981.8 million in fiscal 2007 to a record $1.54 billion. Furthermore, while the company suffered a net loss of $138.4 million last year, in 2008 Take-Two posted record net income of $97.1 million.

"Take-Two's record results for the 2008 fiscal year reflect the fundamental strength of our business model," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two. "Our performance has benefited from the strategies we've implemented during the past 18 months to unlock the potential of our creative talent, sharpen our focus on the core business, and take costs out of our operations. We've also signed new agreements with the senior members of the Rockstar Games label, a team that has produced some of the industry's most extraordinary hits. These actions were taken in the interest of creating long-term shareholder value, and we believe they have also better positioned the Company to weather an increasingly challenging economic climate."

Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two, added, "While our initial guidance provided today is a prudent response to the difficult current and possible future business conditions, we continue to maintain our strategy of developing a select portfolio of AAA titles. We believe one of the keys to long-term success in our industry is to offer truly outstanding products and a great entertainment experience. We're excited about our 2009 pipeline, which will include the introduction of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS, episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 and downloadable content for Midnight Club: Los Angeles, as well as new offerings from such powerful franchises as BioShock, Mafia and the 2K Sports roster. We'll also continue to invest in initiatives to achieve scale and create new revenue opportunities, while running a disciplined and cost-effective operation."

For the first quarter of 2009 (ending Jan. 31), Take-Two is expecting revenues of $175 million to $225 million and non-GAAP earnings per share between 70 and 85 cents. For the full 2009 year, the company is forecasting revenues between $1.1 billion and $1.25 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share between zero and 20 cents.