UBISOFT® Reports First-half 2009-10 Results

[WhiteKnight77]

UBISOFT® Reports First-half 2009-10 Results

 Sales : €166 million

 Current operating loss of €78 million, in line with guidance

 2009-10 targets confirmed

Ubisoft's Big Franchises Win, Wii Games Lose - Update

Despite the fact that Wii games made up 22% of Ubisoft's sales during the first half, Guillemot continuously referenced the console in regards to underperforming titles throughout the investor conference call that accompanied the announcement. ""We have some Wii games performing inline, with some underperforming," Yves explained, noting that, ""We're still facing a challenging environment with uncertainties on the Wii."

Ubisoft's First Half Sales Drop More Than 50%

Ubisoft's combined sales for the first two quarters of 2008-2009 were €344 million ($510 million). A year later, and that figure drops by 52%, down to €166 million ($246 million).

Why has Ubi lost so much in sales lately? I think it is several factors really. Maybe one day Ubi will pull their head out of the sand and wake up, but I think that day will be when they drop another 50% or so. Forumites all over the gaming kingdom all have similar complaints yet nothing is done to alleviate said complaints.

[Sup]

http://www.ubisoftgroup.com/index.php?p=59...mlsdGVyX3llYXI9

Ubisoft has released some ######ty games recently, but i'm not sure you quite understand the numbers here. Ubisoft projected these kinds of sales, and it's largely based on the fact that ubisoft did not release any big name games in the first half of 09/010, compared to a blockbuster year in 08/09.

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™.

Now, pay attention to this part:

Sales for the third quarter of 2009-10

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 Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION® 3, Nintendo DSI™ and PSP™

− James Cameron’s Avatar™: The Game for Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION® 3, Wii™, Nintendo DS™, 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™.

The Group expects third-quarter 2009-10 sales to come in at around €540 million, up some 6% compared with the same period of 2008-09.

No telling if that'll actually come to pass, but until it does it would be absolutely ridiculous to say ubisoft is doing poorly as a company. Their plan for 09/010 was to coast through the first half with losses and release their big name games (prince of persia, assassins creed, splinter cell, ruse, red steel, etc) in the second half. If the second half meets ubi's planned sales projections as well as the first half did, ubisoft is in for a fantastic year.

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."

Also, it's worth mentioning their market share hasnt really changed at all. Grown a bit some places, shrunk a bit others.

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).

Now, don't get me wrong, UNLESS UBISOFT MEETS THESE SALES PROJECTIONS, THEY WILL BE IN TROUBLE.

But there's no reason to speculate that they will not meet them. So far, everything has gone in line with the plan Yves proposed. In fact, the only of their planned moneymaking games reported on so far, Assassins creed 2, sold fantastically: 1.6 million in the first week.

Time will tell if Avatar, Splinter Cell, Red Steel, and the other big titles also do as well as they hope.