Ubisoft has today confirmed its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending December 31st 2005, which has seen the company experience a record sales of 250 million Euros (£171.4 million) up 35% on the year. Nine month sales increased by 29% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year to 403 million Euros (£276.3 million.) The company attributes the record sales in the third quarter to it's portfolio of releases through the period including Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, and Prince of Persia; The Two Thrones. Ubisoft also noted that 15% of sales came from the next-generation handheld market.

Announcing the results, Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft Entertainment said, "2005 was another successful year. We gained additional market share and further strengthened the Ubisoft brand: Prince of Persia(r) is increasingly recognised as the reference for action/adventure games, and Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game of the Movie set new standards of quality, making Ubisoft a must-have partner for license holders. With years of continuous progress behind us, we ranked third independent publisher in Europe in 2005 and fifth in North America. Ubisoft is now established as one of the major players in our industry with highly valuable assets."

Ubisoft's market share also saw the company improve on the year with a one percent gain to 4.5% in the United States making it the fifth largest independent publisher in the territory. In Europe, Ubisoft stands as the fourth largest independent publisher in the UK, the third largest in Italy, and the second largest in France and Germany.

The forecast for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year sees Ubisoft lower expectations from 600 million Euros (£411.4 million) to 530 million Euros (£363.4 million.) Ubisoft cites three reasons for the revised forecast including the drop in software sales in North America and Europe, a lower amount of reorders for Peter Jackson's King Kong: Official Game of the Movie, and shifted release of Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year to the second quarter of the next fiscal year.

Regarding the revised figures Guillemot, added "With close to 8,000 units sold per million euro box office1, the game Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game of the Movie largely exceeded sell-through of the two other Hollywood license-based games released during the quarter, demonstrating Ubisoft's superior marketing and distribution capabilities. However, with the softness in the market recorded over the past few weeks, we now expect a lower level of reorders for the end of the fiscal year."

"We are disappointed that our full year results should come below our initial guidance. Nevertheless, we are very proud that Ubisoft has clearly gained ground in 2005, in a challenging environment due to the arrival of next-generation home consoles. These gains were achieved while making major investments in these new platforms in order to leverage the Group's strengths for future profitable growth. The market transition will continue in the short term. However, with its portfolio of stellar brands and widely recognised development talents, Ubisoft is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the long term positive prospects of the video game industry."

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