- Sales came in at €139 million, exceeding the Group’s target of approximately €125 million
– Record weighting for digital revenue, representing 75% of total sales compared with 56% one year earlier
- Ubisoft was the leading publisher in North America and the EMEA regions for the first six calendar months of 2016 in the retail console market[1]
- Targets for full-year 2016-17 confirmed
Paris, July 19, 2016 – Today, Ubisoft released its sales figures for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2016.
Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, stated “Our solid figures for the first quarter of 2016-17 have confirmed the excellent digital trends and demonstrate we are successfully executing our strategic plan. Player engagement levels reached record highs during the period, fueled by the success of The Division, Rainbow Six Siege, and Hungry Shark World. MAUs[2] were up 53% year on year, driving digital revenue to a record weighting of 75% of overall sales. Also during the period, our new line-up of games was very well received at E3, with our portfolio of titles – notably For Honor, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Just Dance 2017, South Park The Fractured But Whole, Steep and Watch_Dogs 2 – lauded for its quality and diversity and confirming its strong potential.”
“The outlook for the video game industry has never been so promising. Our growth drivers going forward include the digital transformation, the strong momentum of the PC, console, and mobile markets, expansion into new geographic regions (including Asia), the excellent potential of eSports and Virtual Reality, and the extension of the Group’s brands beyond video games. All of these factors will help us pursue our strong pace of value creation in the coming years”.
Sales
Sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2016-17 amounted to €139.1 million, up 44.0% (46.6% at constant exchange rates) compared with €96.6 million for the first three months of 2015-16. This first-quarter 2016-17 sales figure was higher than the target of around €125 million announced when Ubisoft released its results for fiscal 2015-16.
Back-catalog sales rose 36.3% year-on-year to €126.8 million, demonstrating the increasingly recurring nature of our operations.
Digital revenue came to €104.8 million and accounted for 75.3% of total sales (compared with 56.0% in first-quarter 2015-16), representing a new record high for the Company. This revenue figure includes recurring player investment[3] of €47.9 million, up by a very sharp 113.8% year on-year. Recurring player investment represented 34.4% of overall sales during the period, illustrating the successful execution of the Group’s three-year strategic plan.
Outlook
Second-quarter 2016-17 sales
The Group expects second-quarter 2016-17 sales to come in at approximately €100 million.
Full-year 2016-17
Ubisoft is standing by its targets for full-year 2016-17, namely sales of around €1,700 million, non-IFRS operating income of approximately €230 million, and solid free cash flow generation.
Significant event
Nomination of two new independent directors: Following a proposal from its Nomination Committee, Ubisoft’s Board of Directors has decided the appointment of Frédérique Dame and Florence Naviner as independent directors. The appointment of these two new directors will bring Ubisoft valuable and complementary experience. Frédérique Dame, currently a business angel, will notably contribute her acute expertise in digital customer experience and will enable Ubisoft to benefit from her extensive network in Silicon Valley. Florence Naviner, currently Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., will bring in-depth knowledge of all of the financial and strategic issues that a large global group in the consumer industry faces. These appointments will be subject to the approval of Ubisoft’s shareholders at the Annual General Meeting due to be held on September 29, 2016.
Contact
Investor relations
Jean-Benoît Roquette
SVP Investor Relations
+ 33 1 48 18 52 39
Jean-benoit.roquette@ubisoft.com
Disclaimer
This statement may contain estimated financial data, information on future projects and transactions, and future business results/performance. Such forward-looking data are provided for estimation purposes only. They are subject to market risks and uncertainties and may vary significantly compared with the actual results that will be published. The estimated financial data have been presented to the Board of Directors and have not been audited by the Statutory Auditors. (Additional information is specified in the most recent Ubisoft Registration Document filed on July 2, 2015 with the French Financial Markets Authority (l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers)).
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher, and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Watch_Dogs, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman and Far Cry. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets, and PCs. For the 2015-16 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,394 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
© 2016 Ubisoft Entertainment. All rights Reserved. Just Dance, Watch Dogs, Hungry Shark World, Steep, For Honor, Tom Clancy’s, Rainbow Six, The Division logo, Ghost Recon, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries.
© 2016 South Park Digital Studios LLC. All Rights Reserved. South Park and all elements thereof © 2016 Comedy Partners. All Rights Reserved. Comedy Central, South Park, and all related titles, logos, and characters are trademarks of Comedy Partners. Game software © 2016 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries.
RISK is a trademark of Hasbro and is used with permission.© 2016 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro to Ubisoft Entertainment. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Games software © 2016 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. BATTLESHIP is a trademark of Hasbro and is used with permission.© 2016 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro to Ubisoft Entertainment. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Games software © 2016 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
UNO and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by, and used under license from, Mattel. ©2016 Mattel. All Rights Reserved. Game software © 2016 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries.
[1] NPD, GFK, internal estimates
[2] Monthly Active Users
[3] Recurring player investment includes sales of digital items, DLC/Season Pass, subscriptions, and advertising.