UBISOFT ENTERTAIN : ®: Ubisoft® reports first-half 2011-12 results

Ubisoft^® reports first-half 2011-12 results

• First-half sales outstrip targets, coming in at ?249 million

• Stronger financial performance:

• Current operating loss^{[1]:
  #_ftn1}: ?49 million
• Net loss excluding non-recurring items¹: ?31.6 million
• Net loss: ?37.1 million

• Targets for full-year 2011-12 confirmed

Paris, November 8, 2011 - Today, Ubisoft released its sales and earnings figures for the six months ended September 30, 2011.

Key financial data

* Including royalties but excluding future commitments.

Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer, stated "First-half sales have come in around 30% higher than our initial targets. This performance reflects: a 85% growth in our Online segment; a solid showing by our back catalog, driven by Just Dance, Michael Jackson The Experience and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which confirms players' enthusiasm for these flagship brands; and better-than-expected sales for Driver San Francisco, boosted by very good reviews. Our strong sales figure drove another sharp increase in gross profit and enhanced our earnings performance."

Sales

Sales for the first half of 2011-12 came to ?249 million, down 4.6% (or up 0.8% at constant exchange rates) compared with the ?261 million recorded for first-half 2010-11.

Second-quarter sales totaled ?146 million versus ?99 million in the same period of 2010-11, representing an increase of 47.5% (+54.6% at constant exchange rates).

Sales in the second quarter of 2011-12 were significantly higher than the guidance of around ?99 million issued when Ubisoft released its sales figures for the first quarter of the year. This second-quarter performance reflects the following:

• For ?29 million, a better-than-expected performance by the Online segment, the back catalog and Driver^® San Francisco. The Online segment saw a 132% surge in sales, fueled by the success of the Smurfs on Facebook and From Dust(TM) on XBLA/PSN and PC, a further solid showing from Settlers^® Online, the launch of Trackmania(TM) 2 Canyon, Owlient^®'s Howrse first month of sales contributions and ongoing positive trends in the digital distribution of titles for PC and consoles. Online revenues were up 85% in the first half, to ?30 million, or 12% of total sales, compared with 6% in the same period of 2010-11.

• For ?18 million, some early shipments of Just Dance^® 3 in the US. 

Main income statement items

Gross profit represented a significantly higher percentage of sales in first-half 2011-12, coming in at 63.7% against 56.1% in the same period of 2010-11. The figure also rose year-on-year in absolute value terms to ?158.4 million from ?146.2 million. Coming on the back of the increase already observed in 2010-11, this further solid performance primarily reflects the impact of higher gross profit figures for the back catalog as well as the sharp jump in Online sales.

Ubisoft ended the period with a ?49.3 million current operating loss before stock-based compensation, marking an improvement on the ?64.9 million loss recorded for the first six months of 2010-11.

The first-half 2011-12 figure reflects the following combined factors:

• A ?12.2 million increase in gross profit.

• An 11.7 million reduction in R&D expenses, which came to ?86.7 million, representing 34.9% of sales, versus ?98.4 million (37.8% of sales) in first-half 2010-11. The decrease was due to the fact that fewer High Definition games were released during the period, although part of this impact was offset by an increase in both royalties and certain non-capitalized online expenses. At ?174.5 million, capitalized internal and external R&D investments were on a par with the first-half 2010-11 figure of ?175.7 million.

• An ?8.3 million increase in total SG&A expenses to ?121.0 million (48.7% of sales) from ?112.7 million (43.2% of sales) in first-half 2010-11:

• Variable marketing expenses represented 24.9% of sales (?61.8 million) compared with 21.5% (?56.0 million) in the first six months of 2010-11, an increase that was mainly attributable to growth in both the dance games and Online segments.
   
• Structure costs corresponded to 23.8% of sales (?59.1 million) compared with 21.7% (?56.7 million) in first-half 2010-11.

Ubisoft recorded an operating loss of ?54.8 million in the first six months of 2011-12 (including ?5.5 million in stock-based compensation), compared with a ?133.8 million operating loss in the same period of 2010-11 - which included ?62.1 million in non-recurring charges and ?5.4 million in stock-based compensation.

Net financial expense came to ?1.7 million - unchanged from the first half of 2010-11 - and breaks down as follows:

• ?1.1 million in financial charges compared with ?3.9 million in first-half 2010-11, which included a ?3.6 million charge related to sales of tax carry-back receivables.

• ?0.6 million in foreign exchange losses, versus ?2.3 million one year earlier.

• Net financial expense for first-half 2010-11 included a ?4.7 million positive impact from the sale of 2.1 million Gameloft shares.  

Ubisoft ended the first six months of fiscal 2011-12 with a ?37.1 million net loss, representing a diluted loss per share of ?0.39, versus a net loss of ?89.8 million and a diluted loss per share of ?0.93 in the first half of 2010-11.

Excluding non-recurring items and before stock-based compensation, the net loss would have amounted to ?31.6 million, representing a diluted loss per share of ?0.33, versus a net loss of ?44.6 million and a diluted loss per share of ?0.46 for the first six months of 2010-11.  

Main cash flow statement and balance sheet items (unaudited)

Cash flows from operating activities came to a negative ?178.1 million versus a negative ?129.8 million in first-half 2010-11. This reflects a negative ?142.7 million in cash flow from operations (versus a negative ?99.2 million in the same period of 2010-11) and a ?35.4 million increase in working capital requirement (against a ?30.6 million increase in first-half 2010-11). Excluding one-time events and on a comparable basis, the gap between cash flows from operating activities in first-half 2010-11 and first-half 2011-12 is ?7.0 million.

At September 30, 2011 Ubisoft had net debt of ?101.4 million, compared with net debt of ?79.2 million at September 30, 2010. The swing from a net cash position of ?99.2 million at March 31, 2011 was primarily attributable to:

• The above-mentioned ?178.1 million net cash outflow from operating activities.
   
• ?15.3 million in purchases of tangible and intangible assets.
   
• ?1.8 million in buybacks of Ubisoft shares.
   
• ?8.0 million in acquisitions.

Outlook

Full-year 2011-12

Yves Guillemot stated, "Our line-up for the second half of the fiscal year includes established franchises for both hardcore and casual gamers. Our games will target the High-Definition platforms - which are seeing continued progress - as well as the high-growth Online segment and the high-potential categories in the Casual segment. Thanks to the potential of those titles, combined with our significantly enhanced quality levels and solid first-half performance, we are confident that we will be able to achieve our targets for full-year 2011-12."

Yves Guillemot concluded by saying "We are now starting to reap the benefits from the work we have undertaken to ensure more frequent releases of our High Definition franchises with very high quality levels, as well as from the immense opportunities offered by the Casual segment and our continued strong growth in the Online segment. All of these factors will be key to Ubisoft's expected financial performance improvement and return to positive cash flow generation in full-year 2012-13."

The Company confirms its previously-announced targets for full-year 2011-12, namely forecast sales of between ?1,040 million and ?1,080 million and current operating income1 of between ?40 million and ?60 million.

Sales for the third quarter of 2011-12
The third quarter will see the following releases:

• Assassin's Creed^® Revelations for Xbox 360^®, PLAYSTATION^® 3 and PC
• Just Dance^® 3 for Wii(TM), Kinect(TM) and Move
• Rayman^® Origins for Xbox 360^®, PLAYSTATION^® 3 and Wii(TM)
• The Black Eyed Peas^® Experience for Kinect(TM) and Wii(TM)
• Abba^® You Can Dance for Wii(TM)
• Rocksmith(TM) for Xbox 360^®, PLAYSTATION^® 3
• Assassin's Creed^® Recollection, Michael Jackson The Experience and Monster Burner for iPad
• I am Alive(TM) for XBLA/PSN

The Group expects third-quarter 2011-12 sales to amount to between ?580 million and ?620 million, compared with the third-quarter 2010-11 sales figure of ?600 million.

Significant events

Market share: In the first nine months of calendar 2011, Ubisoft was the number 4 independent publisher in the United States with 6.4% market share (compared with number 4 and 5.1% one year earlier) and was number 3 in Europe with 6.9% market share (compared with number 4 and 7.9% one year earlier).

Extension of Equity Swap: Ubisoft and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (previously Calyon) have extended the Equity Swap contract signed on July 12, 2007, on Gameloft shares, for a period of 24 months (new expiry date : July 15th 2013). At March 31st, 6 314 983 Gameloft shares were still recorded as part of the Equity Swap.

Owlient: Acquisition of free-to-play game developer Owlient on September 1^st, 2011. The team at Owlient has extensive expertise in the management of online game-playing communities, and their Howrse brand has almost two million monthly active users. Founded in Paris in 2005, Owlient and their 40 team members is a forerunner in creating free-to-play games. The company set itself apart for its ability to develop the expertise and technology necessary to manage and entertain an online game community.

RedLynx: Acquisition of RedLynx, the Finland-based creator of the renowned digital brand "Trials". RedLynx is a pioneer in digital games, developing more than 100 high-quality titles for a wide range of digital distribution channels, including PC, consoles, mobile phones, tablets and interactive TV. Their games stand out for their high replay value, their long tail sales and their multiplatform positioning. Those characteristics provide Ubisoft with a great opportunity to bring their powerful brands, most notably Trials, to an even broader range of fast-growing digital platforms.

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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 June 28, 2011 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 26 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2010-11 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of ?1,039 million. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com:
http://www.ubisoftgroup.com/.

© 2010-2011 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Child of Eden, Splinter Cell Conviction, Outland, Might and Magic Clash of Heroes, Beyond Good & Evil, Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Driver, Rayman, Raving Rabbids, Just Dance, Ghost Recon, ManiaPlanet, From Dust, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Trackmania logo is trademark of Nadeo in the US and/or other countries. Nadeo is a Ubisoft Entertainment company © 2011 Ubisoft Entertainment and Techland. All Rights Reserved.  Call of Juarez is a trademark of Ubisoft Entertainment and Techland. © 2011 Triumph International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Michael Jackson name and associated logos are trademarks of Triumph International, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

APPENDICES

The Statutory Auditors have completed the procedures for their limited review of the consolidated financial statements. They will issue their limited review report after verifying the Group's interim financial report.

Consolidated income statement

Consolidated balance sheet

Consolidated cash flow statement for comparison with other industry players (Unaudited and not included in the consolidated financial statements)

Consolidated cash flow statement

Reconciliation of Net income before non recurring elements and stock based compensation