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"We can still achieve the high side of (the
guidance) because we have a lot of content to be released and
upside is possible, but it's fair to say for now the forecast is
in the lower side of the guidance," Chief Financial Officer
Frederick Duguet said in a conference call.
The company cut its targets last October to "flat to slightly
down" net bookings and non-IFRS operating income of between 420
million euros and 500 million euros.
It is nevertheless expecting a strong fourth quarter - for
Ubisoft the period spanning January to March - saying that the
period will see "very strong growth" boosted by its
back-catalog, new releases, partnerships and post-launch
content.
Gaming companies saw a jump in demand in 2020 as people were
restricted to their homes during coronavirus-related lockdowns
but some, including Ubisoft, are now facing production delays.
The French group in October pushed back the release of
free-to-play title "Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland" and
further postponed "Rocksmith+" and "Prince of Persia: The Sands
of Time", two titles that had already been delayed.
Ubisoft reported net bookings of 746.1 million euros ($848.09
million) in its October-December third quarter compared to the
725-780 million euros it had guided for and 1 billion euros in
the year earlier period.
Net bookings cover sales of products and services sold digitally
or sold physically as well as revenue from licence fees and
other agreements.
($1 = 0.8797 euros)
(Reporting by Valentine Baldassari; Editing by Jan Harvey, Susan
Fenton, Kirsten Donovan)
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