Ubisoft reports first-half FY12 results - sales come in at €249 million

Ubisoft has released its financial results for the first half of FY12, and has reported sales of €249 million ($343 million), down 4.6% compared to €261 million recorded for first-half of 2010-11.

Profit was up €158.4 million ($218 million) which is a 63.7% increase yoy, compared to the same quarter last year when profit reached €146.2 million The firm noted a profit loss of 14.9% to €37.1 million ($51.1 million), compared to the same period last year when profit was down 34.5% to €89.8 million.

"First-half sales have come in around 30% higher than our initial targets," said CEO Yves Guillemot in a statement. "This performance reflects: a 85% growth in our Online segment; a solid showing by our back catalog, driven by Just Dance, Michael Jackson The Experience and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which confirms players' enthusiasm for these flagship brands; and better-than-expected sales for Driver San Francisco, boosted by very good reviews.

"Our strong sales figure drove another sharp increase in gross profit and enhanced our earnings performance."

Second-quarter sales totaled €146 million ($201 million) versus €99 million yoy, representing an increase of 47.5%. Sales in Q2 were significantly higher than the guidance of around €99 million issued when Ubisoft released its sales figures for the first quarter of the year.

The firm's online segment saw a 132% surge in sales, fueled by the success of the Smurfs on Facebook and From Dust on XBLA, PSN and PC, along with a "solid showing" for Settlers Online and the launch of Trackmania 2 Canyon and Owlient's Howrse. Online revenues were up 85% in the first half, to €30 million ($41 million), or 12% of total sales, compared with 6% in the same period of 2010-11.

"Our line-up for the second half of the fiscal year includes established franchises for both hardcore and casual gamers," added Guillemot. "Our games will target the High-Definition platforms - which are seeing continued progress - as well as the high-growth Online segment and the high-potential categories in the Casual segment. Thanks to the potential of those titles, combined with our significantly enhanced quality levels and solid first-half performance, we are confident that we will be able to achieve our targets for full-year 2011-12.

"We are now starting to reap the benefits from the work we have undertaken to ensure more frequent releases of our High Definition franchises with very high quality levels, as well as from the immense opportunities offered by the Casual segment and our continued strong growth in the Online segment. All of these factors will be key to Ubisoft's expected financial performance improvement and return to positive cash flow generation in full-year 2012-13."

For the full FY12, Ubisoft has confirmed its previously-announced targets, namely forecasting sales of between €1,040 million and €1,080 million and expects Q3 sales to hit between €580 million and €620 million due to the following release:

• Assassin's Creed Revelations for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC
• Just Dance 3 for Wii, Kinect and Move
• Rayman Origins for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii
• The Black Eyed Peas Experience for Kinect and Wii)
• Abba You Can Dance for Wii
• Rocksmith for Xbox 360 and PS3
• Assassin's Creed Recollection, Michael Jackson The Experience and Monster Burner for iPad
• I am Alive for XBLA and PSN