Ubisoft raises guidance on Assassin's Creed success

Ubisoft has raised its financial guidance for fiscal 2007-08 based upon record sales performance for its Assassin's Creed game.

Assassin's Creed has outstripped Ubisoft's sales expectations and currently ranks among the two or three best-selling PS3 and Xbox 360 videogames in most geographical regions.

According to the company, the title has sold through more than two and a half million units worldwide in less than four weeks. Ubisoft forecasts that it will sell at least five million copies in 2007-08, where it had previously predicted three million in sales.

"With the exceptional performance of Assassin's Creed, the fastest-selling new videogame intellectual property in the US ever, Ubisoft's teams have once again demonstrated their expertise in creating and promoting major brands," said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.

"These regular-sequel franchises are a source of very high profitability both in the short and long term. Drawing on its strong internal development capacities, Ubisoft is currently in an ideal position to continue to develop numerous new creations - an essential condition for winning market share and ensuring strong growth going forward."

As a result of solid sales performance from Assassin's Creed and other titles, Ubisoft has revised its sales forecasts. The target for current operating income before stock options has been revised upwards to at least 12 per cent of sales, compared with the previously announced forecast of at least 9 per cent.

For 2007-08, it is forecasting sales of more than 840 million Euro, up from the prior forecast of 825 million. For Q3, Ubisoft is forecasting 410 million Euro in sales, up from 330 million.

Ubisoft officially announced that it has postponed Tom Clancy's End War, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Far Cry 2. These titles are now scheduled for release in fiscal 2008-09, rather than Q4 2007-08.

As a result of moving these titles, Ubisoft is forecasting sales of approximately 975 million Euro in fiscal 2008-09, with operating income representing at least 11 per cent of sales.