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| Sales for the first quarter ending June 30, 2005 Sales for the quarter ending June 30, 2005, came to 43 million euros, in line with the Group target and reflecting a new product release schedule concentrated more on the 2nd quarter of the current fiscal year. Thus, sales for the first half 2005-2006 are expected to reach 155 million euros, up more than 20% compared with the first half 2004-2005, at constant exchange rates. The main title launched during the first quarter 2005-2006 - Star Wars? Episode III: Revenge of the Sith? for Nintendo DS? and Game Boy Advance - sold 565, 000 units in two months. This title ranked among the top sellers for the Nintendo DS? portable console: - 1st in May 2005 in the US . - 2nd in May and June 2005 in the UK . The success of titles launched at the end of the previous quarter and during the quarter under review enabled the Group to gain market share. All platforms combined, Ubisoft ranked: - 2nd independent publisher in the UK and 3rd in Canada and in Germany. - 2nd independent publisher in France and 6th in the US. This progression is due in particular to a strong performance on the next generation portable console game segment such as the Nintendo DS?, for which Nintendo recently announced that it had crossed the threshold of 5 million units sold. Ubisoft has taken the lead among game publishers for this platform: #1 independent publisher in the US, France, the UK, and Canada. The 13 internal development studios actively pursued recruitment of new talents. The Quebec studio, whose creation was announced in April 2005, has already recruited 45 employees. In total, studio headcount rose by 170 during the first quarter 2005-2006 to 2, 400 at June 30, 2005. The Group is therefore in line with its objective of adding 600 new employees during the current fiscal year. Following the capital gain on the sale of Gameloft shares announced today, the Group is revising upward its net income target for fiscal year 2005-2006 by 8 million euros. It now stands at 38 million euros in IFRS, before accounting for the positive impact related to the equity swap and non-cash expenses related to the transition to IFRS: stock-based compensation and additional expenses corresponding to the accounting for convertible bonds. Furthermore, the Group confirms all other objectives - sales, operating income and free cash flow ? announced on June 16, 2005, in conjunction with the fiscal year 2004-2005 earnings release. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Game News :: home page |