Final Fantasy, Batman boost Square Enix profits 48%
Eidos property performs well alongside role-playing franchises and Advent Children movie
Square Enix has reported a rise in profits of 48.2 per cent, off the back of strong Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Quest IX, Final Fantasy XIII and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days sales.
For the nine months ended December 31, net income was ¥7.7 billion (£56m / $87.2m), nets sales totalled ¥135.4 billion (£972.8m / $1.5bn), a rise of 30.9 per cent.
Operating income was ¥21.4bn (£153.8m / $239.5m), a rise of 67.7 per cent. Net sales in Square Enix's Games segment, rose 97 per cent from the same period last year, to ¥72.9bn (£524.1m / $816.3m).
"We have made solid progress in our business plan set out at the beginning of the fiscal year,” commented Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix.
"We are pleased with our Final Fantasy XIII launch in Japan on December 17, where we successfully shipped 1.8 million units in this market with a PlayStation 3 installed base of four million.
"Our integration activities since the acquisition of the UK-based Eidos in April are progressing rapidly and allowing us to strengthen our global business framework."
Sales and profits were down in the company's Amusement division, by 14.6 per cent and 20.3 per cent, respectively, due to "severe market conditions". The Publications division – which handles comic books, magazines and strategy guides – saw a rise in sales of 15.9 per cent and operating income up14.4 per cent.
Portable Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy services nudged the Mobile Phone segment up 5.2 per cent in operating income, with sales down 7.2 per cent. The animated movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete helped sales in the Marketing division climb 65.7 per cent and income up a massive 279.4 per cent.