French publisher Infogrames Entertainment, parent company of Atari, today released its first-quarter earnings results for the period ended June 30. Net sales jumped 91.4 percent to 95.9 million euros (about $149.5 million). The company was quite pleased with its "significant increase" in revenues, which demonstrated "positive momentum in the turnaround initiatives which are being implemented by the Group."

The quarter was largely driven by Alone in the Dark, which shipped 1.2 million units on day one, and Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit, which shipped 930,000 units. Speaking to Reuters, David Gardner, Infogrames' Chief Executive Officer, said he's still quite bullish on Alone in the Dark's legs: "Over the lifetime of the product we should exceed two million units. Between two and three million units is still the range but it will be probably difficult to reach three million. We will definitely be over two million."

Overall, the Xbox 360 and PS3 represented 62 percent of the publisher's revenues, compared to 14 percent for DS and Wii, 12 percent for PS2 and PSP, and 12 percent for PC.

The company was especially pleased with its "strong recovery" in the U.S. market, where revenues more than tripled to 25 million euros. "This encouraging growth re-established the geographical presence of the Group in the largest market for interactive games from 16.1% of Group revenues in the first quarter of last year to 27.7% in this quarter," Infogrames said.

European revenues reached 51.3 million euros and accounted for 56.9% of the total, while Asian revenues were up 81.6% to 13.8 million euros (representing 15.3% of the net sales).

"I am pleased with our Q1 sales which have been driven by having two hit products, Alone in the Dark and Dragon Ball Z. It sets the pace for the rest of the year and gives us the time to begin our Publishing turnaround as the next key step to revitalizing the brand and company," said Gardner. "I'm particularly pleased with the trajectory of our U.S. business. Jim Wilson has put together a great team to help drive up our business results and regain our standing in this key market."

Looking to the future, Infogrames is confident that it can grow revenues 12%-18% for the year. The company has a "profitability target at the COI level within 18 months on an annual basis. This is the result of the implementation of the strategic plan to restructure and optimise the distribution channels, to focus on new publishing initiatives, to revitalize the Atari brand name and to expand the online presence of the Group."