Publisher says it plans to capitalize on next-gen consoles and the rise in free-to-play gaming; company's first quarter sales rise 27.2% on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

Ubisoft is looking to the next generation of consoles and the free-to-play market as "major opportunities" for growth, company CEO Yves Guillemot said today as part of the firm's first quarter 2012 financial report. Guillemot said reaching "enhanced profitability" from these markets is a medium-term goal.

New consoles and free-to-play games are areas of "major opportunity," says Ubisoft.

As for Ubisoft's financials, the Paris-based company reported sales of €131 million ($162 million) for the three-month period ended June 30, representing a 27.2 percent increase over the €103 million ($127 million) tallied a year prior. Sales of this level beat the company's internal predictions, and benefited from higher-than-expected sales of May's new release Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

Another boon for Ubisoft's bottom line was the record breaking Trials Evolution, which helped sales in the company's Online division surge 112 percent to €27 million ($33 million). Also contributing to this sector of Ubisoft's business were its free-to-play titles like Howrse, the company said.

It wasn't all rosy for Ubisoft during the quarter, as the company reported a 41 percent decline in back-catalog sales to €39 million ($48 million). Ubisoft said such sales were down across the industry, but noted this dip was partially offset by growth in online back-catalog sales.

As for its current fiscal quarter (ending September 30), Ubisoft plans to haul €110 million ($135 million) in sales for the period, a dip from the last year, which saw the release of Driver: San Francisco. Further out, Ubisoft said it remains committed to its expectations for the full-year of between €1.16 billion ($1.42 billion) and €1.2 billion ($1.47 billion).

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