Pachter: Ubisoft Sales Could Double By FY10

Following Ubisoft's recent announcement of strong third quarter sales results, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicted that the company's sales could "more than double" over 2007 by fiscal 2010. Despite a second delay of Haze, Ubisoft's largely positive announcement saw sales rise 44.4 percent to €450 million ($652 million) on strong cross-platform performance of Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft's casual lineup also contributed to sales results that exceeded the publisher's own forecast -- 2.5 million units of the Imagine series and 4 million units of Petz sold. Pachter believes that Ubisoft's fiscal year 2009 forecast is "conservative," highlighting the potential of franchises including Splinter Cell, Brothers in Arms, Far Cry, Prince of Persia and Anno, alongside new brands such as EndWar, Haze, Shaun White Snowboard, and Air Combat, plus the company's casual games lineup. Added Pachter, "We think that there may be other positive surprises during the year." For fiscal 2009, Pachter predicts that Ubisoft's sales will grow by €170 million ($246 million), with operating income expected to grow by €58 million ($84 million). Concluded Pachter, "Ubisoft is well positioned to gain share over the next several years, and continues to execute well on its strategy to gain share on each next generation platform. Its strength in the casual games has tracked well with surprising Nintendo DS hardware sales growth, which we expect to continue into 2008."