Ubisoft upbeat following sales surge
GRAW2, TMNT help French publisher rake in more than $252 million in the first three months of '07, a 37.4 percent increase; annual sales top $870 million.
Two-and-a-half years ago, Ubisoft was girding itself for a hostile corporate takeover bid. Today, the Paris-based publisher announced its war chest is now jam-packed with cash, courtesy of earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. During the previous 12 months, the company raked in a record 680 million euros, which, at today's unfavorable exchange rates, amounts to $870.4 million.
For the first calendar quarter of 2007--the fourth in Ubisoft's fiscal year--the French publisher's revenue rose 37.4 percent, topping 197 million euros ($252.2 million) and beating its own predictions. Its bottom line was boosted by several breakaway hits, including the Xbox 360 edition of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, which sold more than 1 million copies. (PC, PSP, and PlayStation 3 versions are due out later this year.) TMNT sold upwards of 1.1 million units on eight platforms, thanks to its semisuccessful film inspiration--and no thanks to its middling reviews.
Unsurprisingly, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was pleased by his company's impressive haul. "Our fourth quarter performance was an excellent way to round off 2006-07, a year in which we exceeded all of our targets," he said in a statement. "We have confirmed the strong position of our key franchises Splinter Cell [Double Agent], Ghost Recon, Rayman [Raving Rabbids], and Rainbow Six [Vegas]."
Proud père Guillemot wasn't the only one feeling upbeat about Ubisoft's cash flow. "We continue to believe that Ubisoft is a compelling investment," Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter wrote in a note this morning. "If our assumptions about market-share gains and contribution margin over the next three years are correct, we think that the company could substantially exceed expectations each of the next 12 quarters, driving its share price higher."
96 comments
GRAW2 selling that many copies on one platform bodes well for the PC and PS3 releases coming out later this year.
Good for Ubi. They make the occaisional stinker, of course, but their catalog as a whole is awesome. Also, their size hasn't kept them from publishing smaller titles such as Square Enix's Drakengard 2, From Software's Enchanted Arms, Namco Bandai's Tales of Eternia PSP (EU only), or Game Arts' Grandia II (back in the day). They're a fine example of a game company that makes money all year round and serves its customers well, and they should be rewarded for that.
for the record here i'd like to thank ubisoft for raving rabbids that i love so very much
I like UbiSoft more than EA, but they don't seem to be putting effort into their Wii games. All their effort and money goes into PS3 and 360, which are inferior consoles. (I own a 360 and Wii, and have had a long play on PS3 so don't flame me here).
Ubisoft havent even made a good game yet for the Wii!....they are lazy and money grabbers!. I hope they can prove us Wii owners wrong cus at the moment they suck a$$!!!!
@ChinoJamesKeene How else are they going to get enough money to make great games for 360 and PS3? :P
I'm getting sick of Ubi's money grubbing attitude. They keep pushing back their PS3 titles because they're waiting for a larger install base. Seriously...they'll make just as much money if they put out the titles now. RB6:V and GRAW2 have been ready for quite some time. Ubi just keeps pushing back the release dates. All they're doing is pissing off prospective buyers and losing faithful customers.
I have enjoyed many Ubi-soft franchises such as SC, RS and the first Graw. I won't buy the second Graw until it drops in price though, the ridiculously short campaign is disgusting for the full price ! I also agree with some of the sentiments regarding the PS3, i own a 360 and PS3. I won't buy a title for the PS3 if I have to wait much longer for it than the 360 version, only to find out that it is the same, less rumble that is ! Sort it out Ubi-soft, get greedy and I will not buy your products, no more short campaigns for full price, no more sand in future Graw games !
Ubisoft, stop releasing bad games on the wii and porting everything to every system under the sun.
Xbox 360 edition of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, which sold more than 1 million copies. (PC, PSP, and PlayStation 3 versions are due out later this year ^^^ this is exactly why i wont buy UBISOFT games that are released later for the ps3 but are the exact same game for the 360 making it no reason for a late push back release. So far the 3 games i wont buy: TOM CLANCY: Splinter Cell TOM CLANCY: Rainbow 6 Vegas TOM CLANCY: G.R.A.W. 2 Graw was fun on the 360 but since its going to be the exact replica of the 360 version meaning 720p and exact missions nothing MAJOR EXTRA to give a solid reason to push back these titles. This is why i wont buy these games AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE ELSE. that way they will stop hating on the Playstation company and push games out at the same time. I want ASSASSINS CREED but if its pushed back later than the 360 even one week and the reason isnt because it has extra missions or is in 1080p i will not buy it. PS3 is getting games coming out in 1080p and games like MGS4 are going to use as much GB on BR disc as possible it tells me UBISOFT doesnt care for quality but for a quick dollar and doesnt mind screwing us over and selling us CR***Y games.
Most of their games are only so-so. I mean once you played one Rainbow six you've played them all. Rayman was alright and TMNT was unbearable to play, and yes I did "play" it. Recon's pretty good but once again its very similar to R6 and its former entries in the franchise.
Another push back for Rainbow 6 Vegas for PS3!!!!!! I'm going to go crazy. May 22 was fine. Now June 12!?!? I am so pissed :(
Go Ubisoft. Your Prince of Persia series is what made me go out and buy a console... your games are too awesome.
they deserve the money. now they can make their next games better :) with some of that hard earned cash they got
ubisoft can make all the 360 games they want... but please, PLEASE stay away from wii until you can make something good for it....
Ubisoft seems to be putting out the best games right now for the 360. Tom Clancy games and soon the be released Assassin's Creed. Can't wait!
Ubisoft is one of my top favorite developers, must of the games i have for my 360 are from them, and on the PS2 i got quite a collection of Ubi. Keep them up, we will support, as long as they deliver though.
ubisoft are really in some form at the moment and they have some really massive games coming, also it was just a matter of time before they started playing in the big league, im only hoping they dont go for Activision way and start making lots of average games and a few great games
Good games = good money, that's all there is to it, really. Ubisoft really has been putting out good games very consistently, so it deserves the money it's getting. Some kudos are really in order for this turnaround.
Ubisoft has been making some good games, GRAW2 is quite fun on the Xbox 360, and Rainbow Six: Vegas was actually good this time around, they just need to fix the random enemy spawning bugs, and I will for sure buy their next incarnation of the Rainbow series.
the splinter cell series honestly never reached a peak it's always been a mediocre game I had fun with it but it just seemed to lack something I can't even name it I don't know why maybe because I played Metal Gear Solid first and was always spoiled by that....splinter cell needs a major over-hauling or it will die out same thing with the ghost recon series...but I cant wait for more Prince of Persia's I still love those games but I still would say God of War is better for that genre of game but Sony will probably take a couple more years to get God of War 3 on the PS3.
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