Analyst: Ubisoft Sales Estimates Too Low For Second Quarter

A new report from Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia notes that, while recently reported Ubisoft earnings for the fiscal first quarter bettered expectations, the company's estimates for the second quarter are far lower than expected. Ubisoft posted figures for the first quarter of the current fiscal year yesterday, noting sales of €103 million ($146.3 million), down 36.3 percent compared to a year ago. This figure exceeded both company and analyst expectations of €90 million ($126.9 million) for the period. Bhatia's new report [PDF] notes, however, that the publisher's expected sales for the second quarter is far lower than that which is estimated by Sterne Agee. Ubisoft has estimated that sales will be around €99 million ($140.8 million) for the second quarter of this fiscal year, while Bhatia estimates that figure to be more along the lines of €163 million ($231.8 million). The analyst says that sales in the second quarter will be driven by releases such as Driver: San Francisco, Call of Juarez: The Cartel and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy. Overall, Sterne Agee estimates that Ubisoft will see full-year revenue of €1.08 billion ($1.53 billion) for the current fiscal year. However, it warned that the company is placing too much dependency on its most popular franchises Assassin's Creed and Just Dance.