Publisher issues profit warning to investors
In a recent announcement following the delay of Watch_Dogs and The Crew, Ubisoft has slashed its expected two games not releasing on launch day of the next-generation consoles.
The publisher was expected to make 1.94 billion dollars in sales by the end of the fiscal year in 2014, but the company now believes to see that figure be 1.38 billion. Both delays have caused their revenue to drop by 560 million dollars.
More troubling news was brought to investors when the company issued a warning that it will not be a profitable year. The twelve month profit of 236 million dollars was expected, but now have told investors it will lose 88 million dollars.’
Both titles Watch_Dogs and The Crew have been delayed by about four months until Spring 2014, while The Crew has been delayed by several months until some time between April and September. Yves Guillemont, Chief Executive of Ubisoft told the publisher that this decision was hard to make and that he wished to secure the vitality of the new IP’s by making sure they are of high quality.
“Our long term goal is to win the next generation,” he said.
CFO of Ubisoft, Alain Martinez, recently spoke at a conference to address the revised line-up. Watch_Dogs is told to have the potential to exceed the sales of Assassins Creed one, of 6.2 million units, and that the delay will not affect this.
Guillemot added: “The tough decisions we are taking today to fully realise the major potential of our new creations have an impact on our short-term performance. We are convinced that, longer term, they will prove to be the right decisions both in terms of satisfaction for our fans and in terms of value creation for our shareholders. Fueled by strong momentum for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, calendar 2014 will see the return of growth to the console market.”
