Sales for the first half of 2009-10 came in at €166 million, down 51.7%, or 52.0% at constant exchange rates, compared with the €344 million recorded for the same period of 2008-09.
Second-quarter sales totaled €83 million, representing a decrease of 52.8% (53.1% at constant exchange rates) compared with the €175 million posted for the second quarter of 2008-09. This performance is in line with Ubisoft’s previously issued guidance of around €80 million.
The main titles during the quarter were Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood – which has now sold-in close to 900,000 units over two fiscal quarters – as well as several Nintendo DS and Wii games such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash Up, The Price is Right 2, Battle of Giants: Dragons and, in certain countries Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Academy of Champions.
2009-10 guidance confirmed and first indications provided for the expected first half 2009-10 current operating result
Ubisoft is confirming its targets for full-year 2009-10, namely sales of around €1.040 billion and current operating income before stock-based compensation representing at least 7% of sales.
Based on currently available data, and essentially due to the sharp decrease in sales during the period, Ubisoft expects to report a current operating loss for first-half 2009-10 of around €80.0 million, compared with current operating income of €33.0 million for the first six months of 2008-09.
Ubisoft anticipates a significant increase in sales in the second half of the fiscal year (around 22%) and a profit margin of minimum 17%, thanks to a product mix weighted with high-contribution titles.
The third quarter of 2009-10 will be the most important quarter in Ubisoft’s history, with the following main releases:
- Assassin’s Creed 2 for X360, PS3, NDSI and PSP
- James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game for X360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PSP and PC
- Rabbids Go Home for Wii and Nintendo DS
- Shaun White Snowboarding World Stage for Wii
- Just Dance for Wii
- Your Shape for Wii
- New casual titles for Nintendo DS and Wii.
Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "As expected, in the first half of fiscal 2009-10 the market was very difficult both for Nintendo DS games and for our back-catalogue titles, with few new releases. The second half of the year should be significantly more favorable with a return to strong growth and profitability. Although the environment is still uncertain and the full effect of the sharp drop in console prices has yet to be felt, Ubisoft has the advantage of a diversified and very high-quality line-up for the crucial Holiday period, including the blockbusters Assassin’s Creed 2 and James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and a wide-ranging portfolio of very well-calibrated games for the Wii such as Your Shape, Just Dance, Shaun White and Rabbids Go Home. Growth is expected to be even stronger in the fourth quarter, fueled by the launches of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction, Red Steel 2 and R.U.S.E. Finally, thanks to the investments we have made in recent years to develop our creative workforce, we will be launching numerous initiatives and innovations in the short and medium-term in all segments of the industry, both for current and future consoles and for on-line games."
Market share: In the first nine calendar months of 2009, Ubisoft was the number 4 independent publisher in the United States with 4.2% market share (compared with number 4 and 5.0% one year earlier); number 3 in Europe with 7.9% market share (no change compared with the first nine months of 2008); number 3 in France with 7.4% market share (compared with number 3 and 6.7%); number 3 in the United Kingdom with 7.9% market share (compared with number 4 and 8.3%); and number 3 in Germany with 8.2% market share (compared with number 3 and 7.5% market share).
Acquisition of Nadeo: Set up in 2000 in Paris and comprising a highly talented team of developers, the Nadeo studio has won acclaim for the quality of its multiplayer technology which offers one of the best on-line game experiences available and has already notched up 10 million registered players. Its flagship game – TrackMania – has 700,000 unique players a month and is a pioneer in the sharing of creations (almost 15 million custom tracks created since 2008). It is also the first eSport franchise for racing games.