Written by Gail Sheehan
(Reuters) – French video game group Ubisoft on Wednesday reversed a record 500 million euro loss in the same period a year earlier thanks to record bookings and returned to operating profit for the year to the end of March. announced.
Ubisoft's full-year net bookings rose 33.5% to 2.31 billion euros, with non-IFRS operating profit of 401.5 million euros ($435.35 million).
CEO Yves Guilmot said in a statement: “Full-year 2024 results confirm that Ubisoft is back on a profitable growth path, with record net bookings for the year and the fourth quarter. “It has become a thing,” he said.
During the year, the company reported strong growth for both its “Rainbow Six'' and “Assassin's Creed'' franchises, as well as new releases, with increased pre-orders that offset the long-delayed “Skull & Bones'' game.
Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, told Reuters that “Skull & Bones'', released in February, had poor review scores, was among the worst for Ubisoft games, and was not a big seller. He said there wasn't.
Frédéric Duguet, Ubisoft's chief financial officer (CFO), said in a phone call with journalists that Skull & Bones had gotten off to a “slightly slower start than expected,” but it was still the best Ubisoft game in a single day. He added that it was the second longest play time in the area.
The company hopes to grow its game's audience and keep players engaged longer in the first half of its fiscal year, which begins April 1.
To address concerns from UK antitrust regulators regarding Microsoft's acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, the latter has agreed to sell its streaming rights to Ubisoft.
Ubisoft started receiving payments from Microsoft in the first three months of this year, which already exceed the company's initial investment of 50 million to 100 million euros, Duguet said on a conference call.
For the coming quarter, the company expects net bookings to be approximately €275 million.
(Reporting by Gaëlle Sheehan; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
