Half Year 2025 Ubisoft Entertainment SA Trading Statement Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Nicolas Langlet - BNP Paribas Exane - Analyst : Yes. Hello, and good afternoon everyone. I've got three questions, please. The first one on the Q2 guidance. So you cut it by like EUR140 million. Is it only Star Wars Outlaws or there is something else underperforming in the portfolio? Because if it's only Star Wars Outlaws, it means you have missed by 2.5 million to 3 million units during the quarter. Do you think it's a fair assumption? Secondly, can you help us understand what is the bridge between the net booking reduction and the adjusted EBIT reduction for the full year? It seems you are reducing net booking by EUR500 million and adjusted EBIT by EUR400 million, which is pretty big. So if you can detail a bit more, that would be great. And finally, would you be ready to share the aspiration you have for full-year '26 considering the delay of AC Shadows and what you have in the pipeline? Thank you.

Question: Nicolas Langlet - BNP Paribas Exane - Analyst : Okay, perfect. And on the full-year '24 guidance, do you plan accelerated depreciation for Star Wars Outlaws or not?

Question: Nicolas Langlet - BNP Paribas Exane - Analyst : Okay. Thank you.

Question: Ali Naqvi - HSBC - Analyst : Hi, good evening. Thank you for taking my question. What are you sort of hoping to achieve in a few months of the delay of AC Shadows? And then secondly, in terms of the executive committee review, what is the things that they will focus on? Is that just on execution of your studios or could they also consider selling some IPs or off-loading assets? And then third question, longer term, could you give any sort of guidance or views on debt or cash headrooms or would you have to take on any additional debt as a result of today's warning? Thank you.

Question: Ali Naqvi - HSBC - Analyst : Thank you. And sorry, just one final follow-up, if I could. The trade receivable that was put in at the end of your FY23 results, is there any change to that receivable coming through?

Question: Ali Naqvi - HSBC - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Nick Dempsey - Barclays - Analyst : Yeah, good evening, guys. So first of all, just returning to debt that was mentioned in one of the previous questions there. So we had EUR985 million, excluding leases in March '24 of net debt. If we're looking at breakeven free cash flow, I guess, total net cash flow that drives that net debt will be negative, so the net debt number goes up a bit. Can you talk about -- are there any covenants around any of your debt instruments? And is there anything about debt needing to be paid down in any particular rate, which will be problematic with your lenders? Because -- yeah, every time now that we don't have positive free cash flow makes me worry a bit more about the scale of that debt. Second question, Ghost of Yotei, that is sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, looks an awful lot like -- to me, perhaps I'm not into it deeply enough, but it looks an awful lot to me like Assassin's Creed Shadows. And we're talking about that game Ghost of Yotei coming out in 2025. So is there a risk of you start bumping into that one that people will not buy Shadows because they're waiting for Ghost of Yotei in a few months' time to get their fix of a Japanese game in that vein? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 / 4:15PM, UBIP.PA - Half Year 2025 Ubisoft Entertainment SA Trading Statement Call And the last question, are you still expecting the same amount from partnership deals this year as you were when you said guidance? Has that had any impact on this?

Question: Nick Dempsey - Barclays - Analyst : There was one question -- one, sorry.

Question: Nick Dempsey - Barclays - Analyst : Yes. Sorry, there was one question I forgot if I could just squeeze it in. In terms of your slate for FY26, do you have plans to at least match what you've been doing in FY25? If we include the fact that Shadows will spread now into FY26, can we have confidence that you can at least match your FY25 levels with your new slate?

Question: Nick Dempsey - Barclays - Analyst : Thank you. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 / 4:15PM, UBIP.PA - Half Year 2025 Ubisoft Entertainment SA Trading Statement Call

Question: David Lustberg - BMO Capital Markets - Analyst : Yes, thank you. Hi. I wanted to ask about the Assassin's Creed Shadow movement, two questions on it. One, does the shift from the Christmas and holiday season, do you expect that to impact unit sales? And any color you can provide on the incremental development costs to get the game ready?