Ubisoft Reports ‘Solid Performance’ During Fiscal Third Quarter of 2018
By Stefanie Fogel
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Ubisoft delivered “solid performance in a very competitive environment” during its third fiscal quarter of 2018, it said in an earnings report on Thursday.
Sales for the third quarter were €562 million ($635 million USD), an increase compared to the €367 million reported in the second quarter. Sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2018 totaled €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion USD), while net bookings for the first nine months were up 13.5%. PC and mobile net bookings were up 58% and 78%, respectively, during that time period as well.
“Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” had a solid performance, Ubisoft said, with a strong increase in player engagement. While the publisher didn’t give exact sales numbers, it said the game, along with “Far Cry 5,” ranked in the top 10 best-sellers of 2018. Meanwhile, “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” esports viewership rose 205% in 2018, and the communities for all of Ubisoft’s “Tom Clancy” franchises surpassed 70 million unique players.
“Ubisoft delivered a solid performance in a quarter when, as expected, competition was particularly fierce,” said Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot. “Our remarkable resilience was underpinned by the high quality of our games and services, our ability to reach a much wider audience than before — on more platforms and in more geographic regions — and the benefits gained from our digital transformation. In view of our robust momentum and the upcoming releases of ‘The Division 2’ and ‘Far Cry New Dawn,’ we expect to see record performances for fourth-quarter and full-year 2018-19.”
Guillemot believes Ubisoft’s ability to adapt and profit from new market trends will help drive its success in the coming years. The growth of esports and the opening of Asian markets are key opportunities for the industry going forward, he said, while the digital revolution is enabling the publisher to build a direct relationship with its player communities.
“Against this backdrop, Ubisoft is building its organizational structure for the long term,” he said. “Leveraging the ownership of our IPs and studios, we are striving to provide a fulfilling working environment so that our talented people can realize their full potential and to deliver players beneficial experiences that go beyond pure entertainment. Therefore, we are confident in our ability to continue to grow and increase our profitability over the coming years.”
Ubisoft expects sales to reach approximately €571 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.
