Xbox 360 + Wii Drive Sales For Ubi's 3rd Quarter News
Chris Leyton
24/01/2007
French publisher enjoys strong demand over Christmas and looks ahead to a good fourth quarter...
Ubisoft, today announced a strong third quarter performance, driven by strong sales for Wii and Xbox 360 titles during the Christmas period.
In the three month period to December 31st 2006, Ubisoft posted sales of 311 million euros (£205 million), representing an increase of 24% compared to the 250 million euros (£165 million) that were recorded in the previous year. The result also exceeded Ubisoft's previous expectations for the quarter, which originally stood at 280 million euros (£185 million). As a result, sales for the nine-month period ending December 31st also saw a rise compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, increasing by 20% from 403 million euros (£266 million) to 483 million euros (£318 million).
The increase was attributed to 16 million euros worth of sales from titles such as Rainbow Six Vegas, Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Red Steel during the third quarter. Titles launched during the first half, including Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Dogz, Kingdom Hearts and OverG Fighters, accounted for 6 million euros, whilst back-catalogue titles pulled in a further 7 million euros.
Fuelled by the launch of Wii and PlayStation 3 (in some territories), next-generation sales accounted for 63% of the third-quarter totals, compared to a figure of 18% in the previous year. This was further split into Wii sales accounting for 21% of total sales; Xbox 360 titles contributed 28% towards sales; whilst titles for the hugely popular Nintendo DS made up 9% of Ubisoft's total. The results saw the French publisher famous for brands such as Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia and Rayman achieve the position of No.1 independent publisher on Wii and No.2 on the Xbox 360, throughout North America and Europe.
Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft stated: "The very positive trend identified in October and November continued into December. We saw excellent sales for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas - which ranked as the third best-seller in December for the Xbox 360 system in the United States - as well as sustained success for Red Steel and Rayman, which have ranked number two and three in sales for the Wii in the United States and Europe since the console was launched. In 2006, Ubisoft moved into the position of second-leading independent publisher in Europe and gained further market share in the United States, with a 26% growth over the year."
Looking ahead towards the fourth quarter ending March 31st 2007, Ubisoft has a number of big titles on the way, including the hugely anticipated Ghost Recon advanced Warfighter 2; a game based on the forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie; Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Rainbow Six Vegas for the PlayStation3; along with four new Wii Titles. The publisher expects to achieve sales of at least 152 million euros (£100 million) during the period, compared to 144 million in the previous year (£95 million).
Because of the 31 million euro increase in sales during the third quarter, Ubisoft has revised its full-year sales target accordingly. Sales growth during the fiscal year is now expected to approach 16%, compared to previous forecasts of between 10% and 12%.
Looking further ahead, Ubisoft mentions three Wii titles originally slated for release during the fourth quarter and Free Radical's Haze, which will bolster the performance for fiscal 2007/08. A forecast of 25% sales growth was previously indicated for the financial year, representing figures of between 750 million and 766 million euros; Ubisoft has decided to maintain this target.
Yves Guillemot concluded: "2007 will be the year of new-generation consoles, with the rampup of the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 systems. We will also see new consumers - particularly women - entering the market, drawn by the remarkable success of the Wii and the Nintendo DS. In 2007-08, Ubisoft will apply all of its expertise in order to leverage this full scope of opportunities, and thereby step up growth and considerably improve profitability. At the same time, as a result of the redemption of the OBSAR bonds announced today, Ubisoft will benefit from greater investment and value creation capacities."