UBISOFT® REPORTS FIRST-HALF 2008-09 SALES
October 23, 2008 by: admin Marked increase expected for first-half current operating income.
Targets raised for full-year 2008-09.
Update on the games release schedule.
Sales
Sales for the first half of 2008-09 came to €344 million, up 31.5%, or 38.3% at constant exchange rates, compared with the €261 million recorded for the same period of 2007-08.
Second-quarter sales totaled €175 million, representing an increase of 37.3% (43.6% at constant exchange rates) on the €127 million posted for the second quarter of 2007-08. This performance – which exceeded the guidance of approximately €160 million issued when Ubisoft released its sales figures for first-quarter 2008-09 – was primarily attributable to:
− The successful launches of Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway™ and SoulCalibur™IV (Europe) for the Xbox360™ and PLAYSTATION®3.
− Solid sales turned in by casual games including new titles such as Imagine® Teacher, My Secret World by Imagine™ and PlayZone™ Sports Party.
Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Ubisoft delivered a robust performance in the second fiscal quarter against an uncertain environment. We are carefully and regularly monitoring changes in the economic context in order to factor them into our market forecasts and financial targets. Going forward, we are confident that the video game industry will be able to continue its dynamic growth in 2008 and 2009, buoyed by the increase in the installed base for consoles coupled with the steady influx of new consumers. At the same time, we believe that thanks to the diversity and quality of Ubisoft’s games line-up – which caters to both hard-core and casual gamers – we are ideally positioned to continue to win market share in the coming years. Holiday 2008 will be another demonstration of this, as we are introducing a gaming experience for everyone with the following titles:
− Far Cry® 2 and Tom Clancy’s End War™ for hard-core gamers.
− Rayman Raving Rabbids® 3 and the PlayZone range, designed to be played by the whole family on the Wii.
− Prince of Persia® for adventure-seeking gamers, and Shaun White for sport and snowboarding fans.
− The Petz® and Imagine ranges, designed for girls, and Jake Power™ for boys as well as the ENER-G sport range dedicated to the US market.
− The Planet Rescue™ range, which will give children the opportunity to take an interest in protecting the environment, as well as the MyCoach range which will enable adults to both learn and look after their well-being while playing.”
