Glu Mobile To Develop New Katy Perry Game, Shares Surge

(RTTNews) - Shares of Glu Mobile Inc. (GLUU) surged more than 14% in after hours trading Wednesday after the company announced a five-year, exclusive partnership with pop singer Katy Perry to develop a new free-to-play mobile game using her voice, likeness, and personality.

Glu, the publisher of hit mobile phone games including "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood", said it expects to launch the game worldwide in late 2015 on iOS and Android.

Additional details on the game's development and Katy's involvement will be provided at a later date.

"Katy is arguably the most recognized musician in America following her Super Bowl XLIX Halftime performance this past Sunday. She is a cultural icon and we expect to translate key elements of her success into an innovative, highly entertaining mobile experience," said Glu CEO Niccolo de Masi. "We anticipate that Katy's significant global audience, including more than 170 million* fans on social media, will make her a strong gaming partner for Glu."

Glu also reported net income for the fourth quarter of $1.38 million or $0.01 per share, compared to a net loss of $3.52 million or $0.05 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the latest quarter were $0.11 per share.

Revenues for the fourth quarter rose to $72.87 million from $34.84 million last year, while adjusted revenue surged to $76.2 million from $42.8 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.02 per share on revenue of $63.78 million for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

"The strength during the quarter was led by the ongoing traction of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Racing Rivals and Deer Hunter 2014, as well as the solid performance of recently released Contract Killer: Sniper," said de Masi.

Looking forward to the first quarter, the company forecasts adjusted revenues of $50.0 million to $52.0 million and adjusted net loss or $1.0 million to $3.0 million, or $0.01 to $0.03 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.03 per share on revenue of $58.16 million for the first quarter.

For its full year 2015, the company expects adjusted revenues of $245.0 million to $275.0 million and adjusted net income of $26.0 million to $31.0 million, or $0.23 to $0.28 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.22 per share on revenue of $245.67 million for the full year 2014.

Glu Mobile shares are currently gaining 14.32% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $3.84, up 23 cents or 6.37%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $3.27 to $7.60.