France's Ubisoft tops guidance for Q1 net bookings on strong GaaS engagement

(Reuters) - French video game maker Ubisoft reported first-quarter net bookings above its own forecast on Thursday, citing robust engagement metrics driven by its Game-as-a-Service (GaaS) franchises.

After four years of negative cash flows due to game cancellations and delays, the current financial year could prove to be a turnaround one, as Ubisoft is set to launch two high-profile games in the coming months, adding to the expected benefits from its new subscription model.

"The quarter was marked by strong session days growth of 15% across Consoles and PC," Assassin’s Creed maker said in a press release.

Quarterly bookings were 290 million euros ($316.25 million)versus Ubisoft’s own forecast of 275 million euros. 

That was still below a consensus of 300 million euros, as cited by TD Cowen in a preview note.

The family-owned company expects second quarter net bookings to come at around 500 million euros, boosted by the launch of Star Wars Outlaws on Aug. 30, said group CFO Frederick Duguet during a media call. 

Net bookings growth should be supported by the continuation of group-wide cost reduction plan and, as Duguet put it, "targeted restructurations", which might translate into potential layoffs. "Headcount is set to continue decreasing in this last quarter," he said. 

Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence are no longer expected in 2025. The release date of "Assasin’s Creed Shadows" is maintained, on Nov. 15.

The group reiterated that it expects solid net bookings growth, a slight increase in operating profit and a positive cash flow in the 2025 fiscal year that started in April.

Some analysts expect the video game industry to return to growth from 2025, driven by a mix of new content, evolving business models and new platforms.

($1 = 0.9170 euros)

(Reporting by Alban Kacher and Michal Aleksandrowicz; editing by David Evans)