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By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc (O:ZNGA) reported better-than-expected third-quarter results as the maker of "Farmville" set its mobile gaming push in motion with releases such as "New Words with Friends."
Shares in the San Francisco-based mobile gaming company, were up about 8 percent in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq after ending Thursday's session up a cent at $2.36.
Expected bookings, an indicator of future revenue, rose 15 percent to $175 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, higher than Wall Street estimates. Analysts, on average, had expected bookings to rise to $171.7 million in the third quarter, from $152.11 million in the same period a year earlier.
On a non-GAAP basis, the company narrowed its third-quarter net loss to $7 million, compared with a net loss of $16 million a year earlier. This surpassed analysts' estimates of non-GAAP net loss of $8.09 million.
Since July last year, Zynga has seen a series of layoffs, revamped its management team and kickstarted measures to control costs and expand the its mobile game offerings as sales from its Web offerings on Facebook deteriorated last year.
Mobile bookings, which accounted for 55 percent of total third-quarter bookings, grew 111 percent since a year ago and 5 percent sequentially since last quarter. This was driven by growth in games such as its "Hit It Rich!" slots game and "FarmVille 2" that were released in the second quarter, the company said in a statement.
Zynga reiterated its 2014 forecast for bookings, or deferred revenue, in the range of $695 million to $725 million.
(Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)