Paris (France) (AFP) – French video games giant Ubisoft on Thursday reported weaker revenues in the first quarter of its financial year, following a tough day of trading that saw its stock plunge. Revenue was down almost 14 percent in April-June at 268 million euros ($305 million), Ubisoft said after the Paris market closed. The stock had previously fallen more than 14 percent, to 4.73 euros, against a wider SBF index down 1.5 percent.
Ubisoft’s first-quarter earnings came after it reported a net loss of 1.5 billion euros in 2025-6. “Net bookings,” the company’s preferred revenue yardstick which excludes some deferred sales, was down slightly less in April-June, falling nine percent to 256 million euros. The year-on-year comparison was weighed down by the lack of a major release in the quarter to contend with last year’s blockbuster “Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” released in March, Ubisoft said in a statement. It added that it had slightly outperformed its forecasts for the quarter.
Bright spots for Ubisoft include the launch this month of “Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced,” a remake of one of the most popular titles in its flagship series that the company said had sold 3.5 million copies. It was the first title released by Vantage Studios, a new subsidiary helming Ubisoft’s top franchises including “Assassin’s Creed,” “Far Cry,” and “Rainbow Six.” The “Black Flag” launch was “an encouraging sign,” chief executive Yves Guillemot said in the statement, adding that the release had “exceeded the annual expectations we had” in its first two weeks on sale. That could help power Ubisoft to a second quarter with net bookings “around 370 million euros,” the company said.
It nevertheless stuck to its full-year forecast of net bookings “down by a high single-digit percentage” compared to the previous financial year. Ubisoft also expects a “high single-digit” percentage drop in its operating margin calculated according to non-IFRS accounting standards.
As it restructures in a bid to escape the doldrums, Ubisoft in June closed studios in Canada’s Winnipeg and the Serbian capital Belgrade. It has pressed ahead with layoffs in subsidiaries including in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where staff have walked out on strike over the job cuts in recent weeks. Ubisoft aims to slash its costs by at least 200 million euros in two years, on top of 300 million already targeted in recent years. The belt-tightening measures have not reassured investors, with the stock shedding 26 percent of its value since the start of this year.
© 2024 AFP
