Warthog buoyed by new ET deal
Article Date: Nov 08 2001Games developer Warthog has signed an 'exclusive deal' with US games publisher NewKidCo to develop a PlayStation 2 game based on film alien ET's return home, writes James Crux.
Manchester based Warthog (WHOG) says the new game will be called ET Return to the Green Planet and will chart his adventures on his home planet at the end of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster. Next March, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are releasing a new edition of the classic film.
New York based NewKidCo has an exclusive agreement with Amblin and Universal to develop and publish game titles in celebration of the film's twentieth anniversary re-release. Warthog spokesman Andrew Gething trumpets: 'it is constant good progress from us. The pipeline for this year is looking healthy and we're confident we'll hit our revenue targets'.
Analyst Peter Read of house broker Beeson Gregory is similarly bullish. 'ET is a valuable licence and it is significant that they are trusting Warthog with it', he argues.
He expects Warthog to boost pre-tax profits from £314,000 to £1.1 million for the year to March 2002 on sales surging from £3.8 million to £8.6 million – after profits and turnover gains of 47 per cent and 58 per cent respectively in 2001. 'It is one of the few smaller companies that tells investors what it's doing with its money and we definitely still have it on a Buy recommendation' he purrs.
Warthog has been racking up deals of late. In July, it announced its first Nintendo Game Cube contract, with Neuer Markt listed computer games publisher SWING! Entertainment Media, for the production of four games based on the children's cartoon series Animaniacs.
The games are being developed for PS2 and GameBoy Advance and will include Warthog's first game for the eagerly anticipated Nintendo console Game Cube. The company is currently developing video game versions of Tiny Toon Adventures and X-Men, as well as its own Bounty Hunter game creation for Microsoft's X-Box.
Warthog floated on Aim back in February this year, raising £5 million via a placing. The NewKidco deal sent the shares up 9 per cent to 48.5p in early dealings today.
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