Ubisoft revenues rise in first half; net income remains in the red

French publisher Ubisoft has announced its financial results for the first half of its 2005 financial year, revealing that the firm's sales rose by 2 per cent and projecting strong figures for the full year.

Revenues for the six month period rose to 130 million Euro, while the firm's operating loss stood at 45.2 million Euro by French accounting standards - an improvement of 5.4 million Euro over last year's figure.

The net loss for the period was 36.5 million Euro, down from a loss of 34.4 million Euro in the same period last year - with much of the increased loss being down to higher internal development expenses, which rose in line with the firm's projections.

The first half was relatively quiet for the French publisher, with the sales growth mostly coming from Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow and Myst IV Revelation, as well as from catalogue sales of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.

However, the company expects a much stronger second half, with sales of Christmas titles already off to a good start and an impressive line-up of titles planned for the fourth quarter of the year, which runs through to April.

The company's big prospects for Christmas are Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Ghost Recon 2, while in the fourth quarter hopes are pinned on the likes of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Brothers In Arms and Far Cry Instincts.

"With a 5.4 million euro improvement in operating profit, the first half is in line with our expectations," commented Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "For the Christmas season, the launches of two major products - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 and Prince of Persia Warrior Within - have been very encouraging. Ghost Recon 2 ranks third in November sales on Xbox in the United States while Prince of Persia Warrior Within sold more than twice as many copies in its first week than the original game."

"The release of Tom Clancyâs Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Brothers In Arms Road to Hill 30 in the fourth quarter are bound to be major events," he continued. "We are therefore confident of reaching our annual targets."

Those annual targets call for Ubisoft to report earnings before interest and tax of between 40 and 45 million Euro for the full year, and the firm is predicting third quarter sales of between 180 and 190 million Euro.