April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Ubisoft Entertainment SA, Europe's second-largest video-game maker, jumped in Paris trading after saying fiscal 2008 sales and profit beat previous forecasts on games including ``Assassin's Creed.''

Sales in the year through March were about 920 million euros ($1.44 billion), beating a previous prediction for sales of 875 million euros, Ubisoft said in a statement late yesterday. That's the fifth time in 12 months that the company, based in Montreuil- sous-Bois outside Paris, lifted its sales target.

``We've had only good news from Ubisoft,'' said Nathalie Pelras, a fund manager at Richelieu Finance in Paris, which oversees $6.3 billion. ``It has blockbusters that are doing well and that justifies the premium'' of the stock price.

Ubisoft rose 3.03 euros, or 5.6 percent, to 57.60 euros, the highest level in more than a month. The shares sell for about 30 times estimated profit, versus 28 for Redwood City, California- based Electronic Arts Inc., the world's biggest maker of video games. Vivendi SA, Europe's largest game producer, is priced at 9 times estimated profit.

Fiscal fourth-quarter sales were about 210 million euros, beating a previous prediction of 165 million euros, Ubisoft said. Revenue was lifted by demand for ``Assassin's Creed'' as well as a better-than-expected start for ``Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six Vegas 2,'' the software maker said.

Operating Profit

Operating profit, excluding stock-option costs, was around 14 percent of sales in fiscal 2008, compared with 13 percent forecast previously, Ubisoft said.

``As expected, 2008 is off to be a record year for the video game market and our games have performed remarkably well,'' Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot said in yesterday's statement.

Until today, Ubisoft shares had risen 49 percent in the past year, compared with a 1 percent decline for Electronic Arts.

Ubisoft announced March 25 that it had agreed to buy the rights to the name of author Tom Clancy, whose books have been adapted for the company's games. Tom Clancy-based titles accounted for 30 percent of Ubisoft sales last year.

The shares rose 10 percent on March 25 after the announcement of the Tom Clancy name deal.

Ubisoft previously raised its forecasts for fiscal 2008 in April, July and December last year, and in January this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 1, 2008 12:00 EDT