UBISOFT REPORTS THIRD-QUARTER 2023-24 SALES
Q3 net bookings slightly ahead of target
Sustained performance driven by high-quality new releases and back-catalog strength
2023-24 targets confirmed
FY25 release slate to include Star Wars Outlaws™ and Assassin’s Creed® Codename Red
Net bookings for the first nine months of fiscal 2023-24
In €m 9 months 2023-24 | Reported change vs. 2022-23 | % of total net bookings | ||
9 months 2023-24 | 9 months 2022-23 | |||
IFRS 15 sales | 1,442.5 | -4.1% | - | - |
Net bookings | 1,448.6 | +1.6% | - | - |
Digital net bookings | 1,185.0 | -2.1% | 81.8% | 84.8% |
PRI net bookings | 688.6 | -18.2% | 47.5% | 59.0% |
Back-catalog net bookings | 1,054.6 | +39.7% | 72.8% | 52.9% |
Third fiscal quarter: Net bookings of €626.2 million, slightly ahead of guidance at around €610 million. Excluding mobile that included the recognition related to the Assassin’s Creed® Jade licensing partnership last year, net bookings were up 43.1% year-on-year in Q3 and 45.1% year-on-year in the first nine months, driven by high-quality new releases and back-catalog strength.
Strong sequence of high-quality new releases designed to be long sellers
- Assassin’s Creed® Mirage successfully harnessed the strength of the Assassin’s Creed brand to deliver a back-to-the-roots experience including the return of fan-favorite gameplay.
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™ set an industry benchmark in terms of world creation and was favorably received by players, positioning the game to be a long-term seller.
- The Crew® Motorfest, released in Q2, continues to outperform The Crew 2 on acquisition, activity, monetization and net bookings metrics since launch, on a comparable basis, thus growing the franchise.
Prince of Persia™: The Lost Crown, released onJanuary 18 , has been unanimously praised by critics and players in reviving an iconic brand.
Q3 Back-catalog: Strong performance demonstrating the power of major brands and Live services
- Tom Clancy’s
Rainbow Six ® Siege: Continued positive momentum with net bookings up sharply vs. last year and strong growth in both number of players and session days per player, with playtime up nearly 60% year-on-year. - Assassin’s Creed® brand: Overperformance driven by robustness of the brand that benefitted from the halo of the successful Mirage launch.
2023-24 targets confirmed: Strong topline growth and approximatively €400 million of non-IFRS operating income
I want to praise the outstanding work done by Ubisoft’s teams. They strove to offer quality games that align with our ambition to bring great entertainment to players. Players’ very positive response to our latest major releases, such as Assassin’s
The fourth quarter represents an opportunity to continue to build on this momentum, with the launch of
Looking at our overall organization, we continue to actively roll out transformation initiatives across the Group in order to respond to the market’s evolution and accelerate the execution of our strategy while reducing our cost structure. In Q3, we made further progress in streamlining our operations and, at the same time, saw overall talent retention continue to improve. We are firmly committed to continuing along this path in the months ahead to deliver on our cost-reduction targets and better position ourselves for collective success in the long term.
Moving forward, we're gearing up for a very promising line-up for fiscal year 2025, including the upcoming release of Star Wars Outlaws in 2024, which should be a major milestone in the video game industry, especially given the undeniable appeal of this legendary franchise that will be coming for the first time to the
Q3 Activity
New Releases
Assassin’s
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was released on
The Crew Motorfest, released in Q2, continues to trade well with acquisition, activity, monetization and net booking metrics outperforming The Crew 2 on a comparable basis, setting the brand on a solid long-term growth trajectory.
Back-catalog
In a more competitive environment for first-person shooter Live services, Rainbow Six Siege posted another very strong performance this quarter, with net bookings up sharply versus last year, driven by very robust growth in both active players and session days per player, and playtime up close to 60% year-on-year. These solid trends continued in the new year, with levels of activity and engagement growing year on year in January and notably session days growing around 20% year-on-year since mid-January. Elsewhere in the back-catalog, the Assassin’s Creed franchise outperformed this quarter, benefiting from the release of Assassin’s
Q4
Beyond Q3,
Skull and Bones™ will launch on
Transformation Initiatives
In order to rationalize its operations and enhance its collective efficiency, the Group continued to undergo targeted restructurings in certain areas. In November, its Canadian general and administrative (G&A) functions were reorganized and streamlined to create a more harmonized experience for employees and teams across the country and the global IT team reprioritized how it supports the business and reduced its overall headcount. Tight control on recruitments alongside transformation streams across the company led to a pursued headcount reduction over the quarter. Over the period, overall talent retention continued to steadily improve month-on-month, as observed since
Convertible Bond Issuance
On
Note
The Group presents indicators which are not prepared strictly in accordance with IFRS as it considers that they are the best reflection of its operating and financial performance. The definitions of the non-IFRS indicators are appended to this press release.
Sales and net bookings
In € millions | Q3 | 9 months | ||
2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2022-23 | |
IFRS 15 sales | 606.4 | 772.5 | 1,442.5 | 1,503.7 |
Deferred revenues related to IFRS 15 | 19.8 | (45.6) | 6.1 | (77.3) |
Net bookings | 626.2 | 726.9 | 1,448.6 | 1,426.3 |
Digital net bookings | 468.2 | 568.4 | 1,185.0 | 1,209.9 |
PRI net bookings | 174.4 | 419.3 | 688.6 | 841.7 |
Back-catalog net bookings | 359.9 | 249.4 | 1,054.6 | 754.8 |
IFRS 15 sales for the third quarter of 2023-24 came to €606.4 million, down 21.5% (19.5% at constant exchange rates1). For the first nine months of 2023-24, IFRS 15 sales amounted to €1,442,5 million, down 4.1% (1.9% at constant exchange rates).
Net bookings for the third-quarter 2023-24 totaled €626.2 million, slightly ahead of the Group’s target of around €610 million and representing a decrease of 13.8% (11.7% at constant exchange rates). For the first nine months of 2023-24, net bookings stood at €1,448.6 million, up +1.6% (3.9% at constant exchange rates).
Outlook
Full-year 2023-24
The company confirms its financial targets of strong topline growth and full year non-IFRS operating income of approximately €400 million.
Q4 net bookings are expected sharply up, leading to record annual net bookings. This quarter includes a line-up with Skull and Bones and
Full-year 2024-25
The extent of the FY2024-25 line-up will be revealed in May and will notably include Assassin’s Creed codename Red and Star Wars Outlaws on the premium side and The Division® Resurgence and
Conference call
The conference call can be accessed live and via replay by clicking on the following link:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/7qyfw8ud
Contacts
Investor Relations Head of Investor Relations + 33 1 48 18 50 78 alexandre.enjalbert@ubisoft.com | Press Relations VP, Corporate Communication michael.burk@ubisoft.com |
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Disclaimer
This press release may contain estimated financial data, information on future projects and transactions and future financial results/performance. Such forward-looking data are provided for information 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 approved by Board of Directors and have not been audited by the Statutory Auditors. (Additional information is provided in the most recent Ubisoft Registration Document filed on
About
© 2024
APPENDICES
Definition of non-IFRS financial indicators
Net bookings corresponds to sales restated for the services component and including unconditional amounts related to
license or distribution agreements recognized independently of the achievement of performance obligations.
Non-IFRS operating income calculated based on net bookings corresponds to operating income less the following items:
- Stock-based compensation expense arising on free share plans, group savings plans and/or stock options.
- Depreciation of acquired intangible assets with indefinite useful lives.
- Non-operating income and expenses resulting from restructuring operations within the Group.
Breakdown of net bookings by geographic region
Q3 2023-24 | Q3 2022-23 | 9 months 2023-24 | 9 months 2022-23 | |
43% | 31% | 40% | 30% | |
Northern America | 47% | 53% | 49% | 52% |
Rest of the world | 10% | 16% | 11% | 18% |
TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Breakdown of net bookings by platform
Q3 2023-24 | Q3 2022-23 | 9 months 2023-24 | 9 months 2022-23 | |
CONSOLES | 62% | 36% | 63% | 39% |
PC | 30% | 11% | 24% | 16% |
MOBILE | 5% | 43% | 7% | 35% |
Others* | 3% | 10% | 6% | 10% |
TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
*Ancillaries, etc.
Title release schedule
4th quarter (January –
PACKAGED & DIGITAL | ||||||
AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S, NINTENDO SWITCH™ | ||||||
SKULL AND BONES™ | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX SERIES X/S | |||||
DIGITAL ONLY | ||
FOR HONOR®: Year 8 – Season 1 | PC, PLAYSTATION®4, XBOX ONE | |
RIDERS REPUBLIC™: Season 10 | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S | |
SKULL AND BONES™: Season 1 | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX SERIES X/S | |
TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX® SIEGE: Year 9 – Season 1 | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S | |
TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION® 2: Year 5 - Season 3 | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, XBOX ONE | |
THE CREW ® 2: Title Update 18 | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S | |
THE CREW ® MOTORFEST: Season 3 | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S | |
UNO® PARTY DLC | AMAZON LUNA, PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S, NINTENDO SWITCH™ | |
VALIANT HEARTS: COMING HOME | PC, PLAYSTATION®4, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES X/S, NINTENDO SWITCH™ | |
XDEFIANT: Season 0 | PC, PLAYSTATION®5, XBOX SERIES X/S |
1 Sales at constant exchange rates are calculated by applying to the data for the period under review the average exchange rates used for the same period of the previous year.
Attachment
- Ubisoft Reports Third-Quarter 2023-24 Sales
© OMX, source