* *Full-year sales up 36% to €928 million ($1.32 billion)*
* *Fourth quarter sales up ten percent to €217 million ($307.70
million) *
* *Ubisoft maintains its ranking as the third largest independent
publisher in the U.S.*
* *Ubisoft acquires the Tom Clancy brand***
* *Fourth quarter sales outstripped initial forecasts due to strong
performances from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2, The Games For
Everyone Brands and Assassin's Creed™*
* *
*Paris, April 24, 2008* – Today, Ubisoft, one of the largest video game
publishers reported its sales for the fourth fiscal quarter ending March
31, 2008.
*Sales*
* *
Sales for the fourth quarter of 2007-08 came to €217 million ($307.70
million), up 10.0 percent, or 20.3 percent at constant exchange rates,
compared with the €197 million ($279.34 million) recorded for the same
period of 2006-07.
Full-year sales for fiscal 2007-08 totaled €928 million ($1.32 billion),
versus €680 million ($964.21 million) for fiscal 2006-07, representing
an increase of 36.4 percent, or 42.9 percent at constant exchange rates.
Fourth-quarter sales outstripped the initial guidance of approximately
€165 million ($233.96 million) issued on January 23, 2008. This strong
showing was driven by better-than-expected performances from the
following games:
* Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2, which reached almost two
million sell-in units and ranked second in all-format sales for
March in the United States and United Kingdom according to NPD and
Chart-Track.
* The Games For Everyone (G4E) brands, which topped €230 million
($326.13 million) in sales for the year.
* Assassin's Creed™, which continued its robust performance,
achieving more than six million sell-in units since its launch.
During the first three months of the 2008 calendar year, Ubisoft
continued to grow faster than the market^^[1] <#_ftn1> based on
sell-through data:
* In the United States, Ubisoft posted growth of 38 percent
(compared to 28 percent for the United States market as a whole),
with market share of 7.2 percent versus 6.7 percent in the first
quarter of 2007.
* In Europe, Ubisoft’s growth was 43 percent (compared to 26 percent
for the European market as a whole), with market share of 9.5
percent versus 8.4 percent in the first quarter of 2007.
Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft, stated: /"2007-08
was a remarkable year for Ubisoft, underpinned by three strategic
achievements: /
* /Continued strengthening of existing franchises such as Rainbow
Six, Rayman, The Settlers and Ghost Recon which recorded excellent
sales levels. /
* /The sharp ramp-up of the "Games For Everyone" casual range, whose
sales figures tripled over the year./
* /A steady output of new releases with Assassin's Creed and Imagine
that have performed exceptionally well. /
/These strategic focuses will once again be the key to our success in
2008 which is set to be another record year for the industry with growth
expected to reach at least 15 percent. //Ubisoft’s games line-up is
particularly strong, with no fewer than seven existing franchises, five
new releases and new brands in the casual segment//."/
* *
* *
*Outlook*
_ _
_Targets for full-year 2007-08 current operating income maintained_
Ubisoft maintains its target, revised upwards on March 31, 2008, for
current operating income before stock options to represent around 14
percent of sales.
_ _
_First-quarter 2008-09 sales_
This period will see the following releases:
* Haze ™ for the PlayStation^® 3 computer entertainment system;
* Assassin's Creed™ and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six^® Vegas 2 for PC;
* New casual games for the Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo Wii™.
Ubisoft expects sales for the first quarter of 2008-09 to come in at
around €154 million ($218.37 million), representing a 15 percent
increase compared to the first quarter of 2007-08.
_Guidance raised for 2008-09 current operating income_
Ubisoft maintains its €1 billion ($1.42 billion) sales target for
2008-09 that was announced on January 23, 2008. Ubisoft is also raising
its guidance for current operating income before stock options to at
least 12 percent of sales, versus the previous estimate of at least 11
percent. This revision takes into account savings on royalties resulting
from the acquisition of the Tom Clancy name for video games and
ancillary products as well as the Group’s stronger back-catalog
following better-than-expected performances in the fourth quarter of
2007-08.
* *
* *
*Recent highlights*
_ _
_Market share_:
* During the first three months of 2008 Ubisoft was ranked the
number 3 independent publisher in the United States with 7.2
percent market share (compared with number 3 and 6.7 percent one
year earlier)
* Number 2 in Europe with 9.5 percent market share (compared with
number 2 and 8.4 percent)
* Number 2 in France with 9.1 percent market share (compared with
number 2 and 8.5 percent)
* Number 3 in the United Kingdom with 10.5 percent market share
(compared with number 2 and 10.3 percent)
* Number 2 in Germany with 8.0 percent market share (compared with
number 3 and 7.2 percent)
_Ubisoft acquires the Tom Clancy name for video games and ancillary
products_. This acquisition transfers to Ubisoft all intellectual
property rights to the Tom Clancy name on a perpetual basis, free of all
related future royalty payments for use in video games and ancillary
products including related books, movies and merchandising.
*_ _*
_Ubisoft acquires its first development studio in India, based in Pune_.
Established in late 2006 by Gameloft, this studio has a team of 120
developers and testers who will initially focus on porting titles to
handheld consoles and will reinforce Ubisoft’s testing teams. The goal
is to become 200-people strong in 12 months' time and to reach a team of
500 in the coming years.
*_ _*
_Ubisoft opens a new development studio in Singapore_. The decision to
establish this new studio validates part of Ubisoft's strategy to
strengthen the Group's presence in Asia and follows closely behind the
opening of a testing and development studio in Chengdu (China) in
September 2007. The objective is for teams to reach about 300 people
over the next few years. __
*_ _*
*_ _*
*_ _*
*_
_*
*_ _*
*_ _*
*_Disclaimer_*
_ _
This statement may contain estimated financial data, information on
future projects and transactions and future business
results/performance. Such forward-looking data are provided for
estimation purposes only. They are subject to market risks and
uncertainties and may vary significantly compared with the actual
results that will be published. The estimated financial data have been
presented to the Board of Directors and have not been audited by the
Statutory Auditors. (Additional information is specified in the most
recent Ubisoft Registration Document filed on June 27, 2007 with the
French Financial Markets Authority (/l'Autorité des marchés
financiers)/)/.///
*Financial calendar*
*Release*
*Date*
2007-08 full-year results
May 22, 2008
/This date is subject to change and will be confirmed at a later stage.///
_ _
*_ _*
*_About Ubisoft_*__
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a
strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has
offices in 25 countries and sales in more than 55 countries around the
globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video
game titles to consumers. Ubisoft generated sales of €928 million for
the 2007-08 fiscal year. To learn more, please visit
www.ubisoftgroup.com .__
* *
© 2008 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Rayman, Chessmaster,
Emergency Heroes, The Settlers, Ghost Recon, Imagine, Farm Life, Petz,
Dogz, Gourmet Chef, Assassin’s Creed, EndWar, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the
Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or
other countries. Rainbow Six, Red Storm and Red Storm logo are
trademarks of Red Storm Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Red Storm Entertainment, Inc. is a Ubisoft Entertainment
company.
© 2007 Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Free Radical Design Limited. All
Rights Reserved. Haze is a trademark of Ubisoft Entertainment and Free
Radical Design. Free Radical Design and its associated logo are
trademarks of Free Radical Design Limited.
© 2008 Tivola Publishing Germany GmbH. All Rights Reserved. Published
and distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under license from Tivola
Publishing Germany GmbH.
© 2008 Scholastic Inc. All Rights Reserved. Translation 2008 All Rights
Reserved Published and distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under
license from Scholastic Inc. The title “Animal Genius” and is used
under license from Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC ANIMAL GENIUS
and associated logos are trademarks of Scholastic Inc in the US and/or
other countries. All Rights Reserved.
© 2007 Spike. All Rights Reserved. Published and Distributed by Ubisoft
Entertainment under license from Spike.
© 2008 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Published and
distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under license from 505 Games. My
Fashion Studio, Goumet Chef, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks
of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries.
© 2008 Gameloft. All Rights Reserved. Published and distributed by
Ubisoft Entertaimnent under license from Gameloft. “Mindnight Play Pack”
is a trademark of Gameloft and is used under license. Gameloft is a
trademark of Gameloft in the US and/or other countries.
© 2008 Royal Jumbo B.V. & Games Factory Online BV. All Rights Reserved.
Published and distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under license from
Games Factory Online BV. Stratego® is a trademark of Royal Jumbo B.V.
and is used under license.
© 2007 Left Field Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved. Published and
distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment. Nitrobike and Left Field
Productions are trademarks of Left Field Productions Inc. and are used
under license.
© 2007 Natsume Inc. All Rights Reserved. Published by Natsume Inc.
Distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under license from Natsume Inc.
Metropolismania and Natsume are registered trademarks or trademarks of
Natsume Inc in the US and other countries and are used under license.
© artlist INTERNATIONAL. Published and distributed by Ubisoft
Entertainment under license from YUKE’S Co., Ltd. THE DOG is a
trademark of artlist INTERNATIONAL, and is used under license.
“PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION”, “PS” Family logo and “PSP” are registered
trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PSP® system– Memory Stick
Duo™ may be required (sold separately).
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks
of the Microsoft group of companies.
Nintendo DS, and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo.
*/APPENDICES/*
*/ /*
*_Breakdown of sales by geographic region_***
*% sales *
*% sales *
*% sales*
*% sales *
* *
*Q4 2007/08*
*Q4 2006/07*
*12 months 2007/08*
*12 months 2006/07*
Europe
44%
52%
51%
49%
North America
48%
41%
42%
45%
Rest of world
8%
6%
7%
6%
*TOTAL*
*100%*
*100%*
*100%*
*100%*
*_Breakdown of sales by platform_*
*Q4 2007/08*
*Q4 2006/07*
*12 months 2007/08*
*12 months 2006/07*
_Nintendo _DS_™_
27%
20%
26%
11%
_Game Boy Advance_
1%
3%
1%
5%
_Nintendo GameCube__™_
0%
1%
0%
1%
PC
4%
10%
7%
16%
_PlayStation__^® _2
2%
15%
5%
16%
_PLAYSTATION__^® _3
23%
5%
20%
2%
PSP_™_
2%
4%
4%
5%
Wii_™_
9%
14%
10%
14%
XBOX_^® _^
0%
0%
0%
1%
XBOX 360_™_
33%
29%
26%
28%
Other
0%
0%
0%
0%
*TOTAL*
*100%*
*100%*
*100%*
*100%*
*_Breakdown of sales by business line_***
*Q4 2007/08*
*Q4 2006/07*
*12 months 2007/08*
*12 months 2006/07*
Development
85%
77%
86%
76%
Publishing
12%
14%
12%
18%
Distribution
3%
9%
3%
6%
*TOTAL*
*100%*
*100%*
*100%*
*100%*
*_Title Release Schedule_*
*1^st Quarter (April –June 2008)*
PET ADOPTION CENTER (US)
Nintendo DS™
ANIMAL GENIUS™ (Europe)
Nintendo DS™
ASSASSIN’S CREED ALTAIR CHRONICLES™
(certains pays européens)
Nintendo DS™
ASSASSIN’S CREED™
PC
Chessmaster® The Art of Learning (Europe)
PSP™
EMERGENCY HEROES™
Wii™
FARM LIFE™ (Europe)
Nintendo DS™
PETZ FASHION DOGZ ^® (US)
Nintendo DS™
HAZE ™
PlayStation^® 3
IMAGINE ™ FIGURE SKATER (Europe)
Nintendo DS™
MY FASHION STUDIO (US)
Nintendo DS™
IMAGINE ™ ROCK STAR (US)
Nintendo DS™
METROPOLIS MANIA 2 (Europe)
PlayStation®2
MIDNIGHT PLAY PACK
Nintendo DS™
MY WEIGHT LOSS COACH
Nintendo DS™
NITROBIKE™ (Europe)
Wii™, PlayStation®2
TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX^® VEGAS 2
PC
THE SETTLERS^® 6 ADD ON (Europe)
PC
STRATEGO (Europe)
Nintendo DS™
THE DOG ISLAND™ (Europe)
PlayStation®2
THE DOG ISLAND™
Wii™
GOURMET CHEF (US)
Nintendo DS™
------------------------------------------------------------------------
^^[1] <#_ftnref1> Source: NPD, Chart-Track, Nielsen and GFK.
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