Ubisoft 2008 Annual Report Download - page 5

Ubisoftperformedverywellin2008-2009despiteintense
competition and an uncertain economic environment.
We were thus ableto record solid growth, with annual
revenuesincreasingby18.4%atconstantexchangerates.
Wealsocrossedthethresholdofonebillioneurosinturnover,
forthersttime,andsucceededinmeetingourobjectiveof
doublingrevenueinfouryears,whileincreasingouroperating
incomeby370%duringthesameperiod.
Althoughweneedtoremainprudentin2009,andevenmore
attentiveandreactivetomarketdevelopments,wehavegood
reasontobeoptimistic.Firstly,weoperateinanindustry
thatisresistingrelativelywelltothecrisisandcontinues
togrow,thankstothecontinuousarrivalofnewcustomers.
Furthermore,Ubisoft’sperformanceshowsthesolidnature
ofourgrowthmodel,whichisbasedonthreemainpillars:
strongstudioswithacompetitivecoststructure,thecreation
ofnewfranchisesandadesireforpermanentinnovation.
Forthersttime,UbisoftmadeitintoFastCompany’sranking
oftheWorld’s50MostInnovativeCompanies.Inthe35thspot,
Ubisoftisthesecondvideogamecompany,afterNintendo,to
appearinthelist.Wealsosucceededincreatingthreenew
franchiseslastyearandcannowcapitalizeonaportfolioof
18multimillionunit-sellingbrands.
Strategic advances in 2008-2009
Once again we achieved strong growth and consolidated
our leadership in the Games for Everyone segment. Driven
bythesuccessofour Petz®,Imagine® and MyCoach ranges,
ourcasualgamingbusinessprogressedby43%,withover
20millionunitssold.Wehavethusafrmedourknow-howon
Nintendoconsoleswithawell-adaptedofferingthatcurrently
represents47%ofrevenues.
We have also succeeded in making the most of new
technologies to innovate, create new brands and break into
new gaming segments.Wehavebroughtnewfranchises
tolife,suchas H.A.W.X.TM and EndWar® ,usingsatellite
geo-locationforthersttimeinanaircombatsimulation
andvoicerecognitioninamilitarystrategygame.Wehave
alsoexploitedthepotentialoftheWiiTMbalanceboardTM
toattractnewcustomersandenternewsegments;sales
ofthelast RaymanRavingRabbids® surpassedthoseof
thepreviousopusby50%,andthereleaseof ShaunWhite 
marks our successful entrance into the extreme sport
segmentwithover2.8millionunitssold.
The pursuit of our convergence strategy is another
strategic advance.Inordertomoveforwardmorequickly
inthisdirection,wepurchasedHybride,aCanadianstudio
specializedinthecreationofdigitalimageryandspecial
effects.ThetalentsfromHybridehavereinforcedourCGI
structure,allthewhilecontinuingtoworkformajorplayers
inthelmindustry.Ouraimistoprogressivelyintegratetheir
know-howinordertocontinuouslyimprovethequalityand
productionvalueofourgames.
Finally, 2008-2009 was a good year for the recruitment of new
talent.TheyearwasmarkedbytheopeningofstudiosinKiev
andSaõPauloandtheacquisitionofMassiveEntertainment,
ActionPants,SouthLogicandPune.Wealsostrengthened
existingcreativeteams,especiallyinSingapore,Chengdu
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ANNUAL REPORT 2009UBISOFT