Ubisoft reports first-half 2009-10 sales

Paris, November 4, 2009 – Today, Ubisoft reported its sales for the six months ending September 30, 2009.

Sales

Sales for the first half of 2009-10 came in at €166 million, down 51.7%, or 52.0% at constant exchange rates, compared with the €344 million recorded for the same period of 2008-09.

Second-quarter sales totaled €83 million, representing a decrease of 52.8% (53.1% at constant exchange rates) compared with the €175 million posted for the second quarter of 2008-09. This performance is in line with Ubisoft’s previously issued guidance of around €80 million.

The main titles during the quarter were Call of Juarez®: Bound In Blood – which has now sold-in close to 900,000 units over two fiscal quarters – as well as several Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ games such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® Smash Up, The Price is Right® 2, Battle of Giants™: Dragons and, in certain countries Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Academy of Champions™.

Outlook

2009-10 guidance confirmed and first indications provided for the expected first half 2009-10 current operating result

Ubisoft is confirming its targets for full-year 2009-10, namely sales of around €1.040 billion and current operating income before stock-based compensation representing at least 7% of sales.

Based on currently available data, and essentially due to the sharp decrease in sales during the period, Ubisoft expects to report a current operating loss for first-half 2009-10 of around €80.0 million, compared with current operating income of €33.0 million for the first six months of 2008-09.

Ubisoft anticipates a significant increase in sales in the second half of the fiscal year (around 22%) and a profit margin of minimum 17%, thanks to a product mix weighted with high-contribution titles.

Sales for the third quarter of 2009-10

The third quarter of 2009-10 will be the most important quarter in Ubisoft’s history, with the following main releases:

The Group expects third-quarter 2009-10 sales to come in at around €540 million, up some 6% compared with the same period of 2008-09.

Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "As expected, in the first half of fiscal 2009-10 the market was very difficult both for Nintendo DS games and for our back-catalogue titles, with few new releases. The second half of the year should be significantly more favorable with a return to strong growth and profitability. Although the environment is still uncertain and the full effect of the sharp drop in console prices has yet to be felt, Ubisoft has the advantage of a diversified and very high-quality line-up for the crucial Holiday period, including the blockbusters Assassin’s Creed 2 and James Cameron’s Avatar™: The Game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and a wide-ranging portfolio of very well-calibrated games for the Wii such as Your Shape, Just Dance, Shaun White and Rabbids Go Home. Growth is expected to be even stronger in the fourth quarter, fueled by the launches of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction, Red Steel 2 and R.U.S.E. Finally, thanks to the investments we have made in recent years to develop our creative workforce, we will be launching numerous initiatives and innovations in the short and medium-term in all segments of the industry, both for current and future consoles and for on-line games."

Recent highlights

Market share: In the first nine calendar months of 2009, Ubisoft was the number 4 independent publisher in the United States with 4.2% market share (compared with number 4 and 5.0% one year earlier); number 3 in Europe with 7.9% market share (no change compared with the first nine months of 2008); number 3 in France with 7.4% market share (compared with number 3 and 6.7%); number 3 in the United Kingdom with 7.9% market share (compared with number 4 and 8.3%); and number 3 in Germany with 8.2% market share (compared with number 3 and 7.5% market share).

Acquisition of Nadeo: Set up in 2000 in Paris and comprising a highly talented team of developers, the Nadeo studio has won acclaim for the quality of its multiplayer technology which offers one of the best on-line game experiences available and has already notched up 10 million registered players. Its flagship game – TrackMania® – has 700,000 unique players a month and is a pioneer in the sharing of creations (almost 15 million custom tracks created since 2008). It is also the first eSport franchise for racing games.

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 1, 2009 with the French Financial Markets Authority (l’Autorité des marchés financiers)).

About Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 28 countries and sales in 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. Ubisoft generated sales of €1 058 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com

© 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Assassin’s Creed, Academy of Champions, Red Steel , Your Shape Logo, Just Dance, R.U.S.E, Rabbids Go Home, TrackMania, Splinter Cell Conviction, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Shaun White is used under license from Shaun White and Shaun White Enterprises, Inc. NADEO and Trackmania logo are trademarks of NADEO in the US and/or other countries. NADEO is a Ubisoft Entertainment company

Your Shape: Based on a license to use the underlying original work created by Respondesign™, Inc., ©2005.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs TM & © 2009 Sony Pictures Animation Inc. All rights reserved. Game Software excluding Sony Elements: © 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All rights reserved.

© 2009 Mirage Studios, Inc. Game © 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

© 2009 Techland. All Rights Reserved. Published and distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under license from Techland. Call of Juarez is a trademark of Techland and is used under license.

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Game Software excluding Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation elements: © 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. James Cameron's Avatar: The Game, James Cameron's Avatar and the Twentieth Century Fox logo are trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Licensed to Ubisoft Entertainment by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The Lightstorm Entertainment logo is a trademark of Lightstorm Entertainment, Inc.