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Eidos needs a Lara Croft
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January 18, 2000: 5:04 a.m. ET
'Tomb Raider' maker's stock collapses 25% after Xmas sales disappoint
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Computer games maker Eidos warned Tuesday that profits over the crucial Christmas period had not come up to scratch, triggering a 25 percent slump in the company's stock price.
Eidos, which made its name with the "Tomb Raider" series of games featuring busty heroine Lara Croft, said unit sales in the quarter to the end of December were "significantly" below the company's expectations.
In a statement the company blamed poor sales in France and Germany and product delays for the disappointing performance. It said profits in the second half of the financial year to the end of March would be comparable to the equivalent period last year. That means earnings for the full year will be well below the numbers for fiscal 1999, because Eidos reported a increased loss for the fist half of this financial year, as it geared up for what it hoped would be a bumper Christmas selling season.
The festive period proved a flop, however, and the company conceded that its decision to ramp up the number of games in production had proved a mistake.
Eidos predicted that comprehensive data, not yet available, would show a major slowdown in Germany and France during 1999, markets which had traditionally been very lucrative for its games.
As recently as late November, when Eidos reported half-year results, the company had made upbeat noises about prospects for the Christmas period.
A crumb of comfort for investors was the company's comment Tuesday that sales of the latest edition of "Tomb Raider" held up well in the approach to Christmas.
Eidos stock plummeted 25 percent to 2,940 pence in early London trade Tuesday, a partial recovery from a trough in early trading that left it 40 percent below Monday's close.
Eidos shares hit a peak of 6,600 pence in late December 1999. 
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Eidos
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