Ubisoft just released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017-18, ended on June 30th.

Once more PS4 versions of games are at the top of sales for the publisher, followed by Xbox One and PC. Interestingly, the lead held by Sony's platform increased year-on-year, while Xbox One also gained a percentage point, at the expense of old-generation consoles and PC. Apparently, Nintendo's Switch doesn't have its own category just yet.

We also get a breakdown by region, showing how Ubisoft's titles fared in North America, Europe and the rest of the world. Even this quarter, North America remains at the top of sales, leading Europe by eighteen percentage points.

A statement by CEO Yves Guillemot gives more details on the performance of the publisher through the past quarter. Sales were firmly above expectations, with a 45% increase year-over-year thanks to digital sales and recurring spending (IE: DLC and microtransactions).

“Fueled by the digital segment –which saw a sharp increase in player recurring investment – as well as a strong showing from our back catalog, our sales for the first quarter of 2017-18 came in well ahead of our targets, up 45%, despite the fact that there were no major new releases during the period.”

"At this year’s E3, our teams presented an outstanding line-up and I would like to thank them for their amazing work which has been recognized by the entire industry. Our games have generated enormous enthusiasm among the player community, which supports our expectations for the full year."

"Thanks to our increasing ability to engage players over the long term, combined with our unique creative strengths, we are even more confident of achieving our targets for 2017-18 and 2018-19. We expect both of these factors to continue being key drivers of value creation in the coming years."

The press release also includes a series of bullet points listing the company's recent achievements. We learn that Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is the industry's biggest hit this year.

  • Sales up 45.2% to €202.1 million, exceeding the Group’s target of approximately €170.0 million.
  • Digital revenue up 55.0% to €162.4 million (80.4% of total sales vs 75.3% in first-quarter 2016-17).
  • PRI1 up 73.4% to €83.1 million (41.1% of total sales vs 34.4% in first-quarter 2016-17).
  • Back-catalog sales of €190.4 million, (94.3% of total sales vs 91.1% in firstquarter 2016-17).
  • Confirmation of the increasingly recurring profile of the Group’s business.
  • Entire Ubisoft portfolio contributed to performance.
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands: the industry's biggest hit since the beginning of the year.
  • Targets for full-year 2017-18 and 2018-19 confirmed.

The outlook for the current fiscal year, ending on March 31st, 2018, is as follows.

Second-quarter 2017-18 sales

The Group expects second-quarter 2017-18 sales to come in at approximately €190.0 million,

up 34.0% on the second quarter of 2016-17. The period will see the following main releases:

  • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle for Nintendo Switch.
  • The third season of For Honor for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox one.
  • The Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Hong Kong expansion for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox one.

Full-year 2017-18 and 2018-19

Ubisoft is standing by its targets:

  •  For 2017-18: sales of around €1,700.0 million and non-IFRS operating income of approximately €270.0 million.
  • For 2018-19: sales of around €2,100.0 million, non-IFRS operating income of approximately €440.0 million and free cash flow of approximately €300.0 million

Last, but not least, below you can read a list of Ubisoft's upcoming releases for the current quarter, with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle for Nintendo Switch coming as the lone console rekease.

If you want to compare the results published today with those of the past quarter, you can find them here.