Ubisoft Shares Climb After Partnerships Lift Sales

By Mauro Orru and Adria Calatayud

Ubisoft Entertainment shares climbed as trading resumed after a weeklong suspension, as the videogame maker posted higher sales for its fiscal second quarter due to stronger-than-expected partnerships and a robust back catalog.

The French company behind "Assassin's Creed" and other popular videogame franchises said net bookings for the three months to the end of September climbed 39% on year to 490.8 million euros ($565.8 million), above company guidance of roughly 450 million euros and a Visible Alpha consensus forecast of 448.8 million euros. Ubisoft attributed the result to partnerships, with meaningful contributions from live TV and animated series.

The company last week postponed the release of results at the last minute and requested that Euronext halt trading of its shares and bonds as it finalized its accounts. On Friday, Ubisoft said it asked Euronext to resume trading of its shares and bonds after an account restatement that put it in breach of loan terms caused a delay in its results.

Shares in Ubisoft opened 5.6% lower as trading resumed, but the stock reversed the losses shortly afterward. Shares were up 11% in European morning trading.

Better-than-expected sales come as Ubisoft is seeking to turn its business around and regain investor confidence after months of production delays, glitches and cancellations that forced it to shutter a number of development studios and cut jobs. Before the suspension, Ubisoft shares had shed almost half of their value since the start of the year.

In a bid to reorient resources to games that are more likely to prove popular with players, the company is creating business units known as creative houses, each with its own objectives and leadership team focusing on different types of games.

Ubisoft's lineup this fiscal year includes "Anno 117: Pax Romana," a remake of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," "Rainbow Six Mobile" and "The Division Resurgence," with more games to be announced at a later stage.

Ubisoft struck a deal in March under which Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings agreed to spend 1.16 billion euros for a roughly 25% stake in a new subsidiary, the first of the group's creative houses. The business includes the teams behind the "Assassin's Creed," "Far Cry" and "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" franchises.

All conditions for the deal have been satisfied and the transaction is on track to close in coming days, allowing Ubisoft to repay early loans and debt instruments with an outstanding amount of about 286 million euros, it said.

Ubisoft said an analysis of revenue recognition from a partnership led it to restate its accounts for fiscal 2025, as a result of its auditors' review of the results. This meant the company was in breach of the terms of certain debt instruments as of Sept. 30, but Ubisoft said the early repayment of the loans will address the issue.

Ubisoft reported a non-IFRS operating profit of 27.1 million euros for the first half of the fiscal year compared with a loss of 252.1 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had forecast an operating loss of 130.2 million euros, according to Visible Alpha.

For the current quarter, Ubisoft expects net bookings of roughly 305 million euros compared with 301.8 million euros a year earlier.

For the fiscal year to the end of March, Ubisoft said it continued to expect flat net bookings, roughly break-even non-IFRS operating profit and negative free cash flow.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com and to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 21, 2025 05:19 ET (10:19 GMT)