Ubisoft reveals positive Q3 results, lowers full year guidance

French software publisher Ubisoft has posted its third quarter financial results and lowered its guidance for the full fiscal year, despite positive revenue increase and record sales for the period.

Sales for the quarter ended December 31st stood at a record EURO 250 million, reflecting a 35 per cent year-on-year increase. The positive reception to titles launched in December - including Peter Jackson's King Kong and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones - has contributed significantly to this success, and Ubisoft has stated that next-generation versions of these titles has accounted for 15 per cent of sales.

The success of these and other titles in the company's catalogue has pushed overall sales for the nine month period to EURO 403 million, which is an increase of 29 per cent from the previous year.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated: "2005 was another successful year. We gained additional market share and further strengthened the Ubisoft brand: Prince of Persia is increasingly recognized as the reference for action/adventure games, and Peter Jacksonâs King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie set new standards of quality, making Ubisoft a must-have partner for license holders."

The company has improved its global market share thanks to strong sales performance in several regions, with overall share rising to 4.5 per cent during 2005's Christmas period. Ubisoft claims it is now the 5th largest independent publisher in the US, the 2nd largest in France and Germany, 3rd in Italy, and 4th in the UK and Australia. By combining sell-through in each region, the company now ranks itself as the 4th largest independent publisher worldwide, excluding Japan.

The news was not all positive, however - Ubisoft has lowered its guidance for the full fiscal year 2005-2006 to revenues of approximately EURO 530 million, compared to earlier forecasts of EURO 600 million.

The company cites a general weakness of the market in the US and Europe which has continued since the end of December, combined with lower than expected reorders of Peter Jackson's King Kong (which has already shipped 4 million units). The rescheduling of Tom Clancyâs Splinter Cell: Double Agent outside the fourth quarter is also a factor.

"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," Guillemot stated.

"These gains were achieved while making major investments in these new platforms in order to leverage the Groupâs strengths for future profitable growth. The market transition will continue in the short term. However, with its portfolio of stellar brands and widely recognized development talents, Ubisoft is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the long term positive prospects of the video game industry."