Sega Sammy swings to profit, game sales down

Sega Sammy has swung to a profit for the nine months ended December 31, with a net income of ¥16.9 billion (£120.8m / $189.5m), compared to a net loss of ¥10.8 billion (£77.4m / $121.3m) for the same period last year.

Net sales for the period were down 7.7 per cent, to ¥285.3 billion (£2.03bn / $3.1bn), and operating income ¥ 28.8 billion (£205.9m / $322.9m), up from a ¥2.7 billion (£19.6m / $30.8m) loss the prior year.

However, game sales in the Consumer Business for the nine months were down over 13 per cent to ¥83.1 billion (£592.5m / $929.8m), although the division swung to an operating profit of ¥1.4 billion (£10.1m / $15.8m), from a loss of ¥5.6 billion (£40.2m / $63.1m) for the same period last year.

The company sold 16.7 million games during the period – including 6.09 million in the US, 8.16 million in Europe and 2.47 million games in Japan, with its latest release, Bayonetta, selling 1.1 million units globally since launch.

"While domestic sales were mostly firm thanks to streamlining the development by narrowing down the titles, overseas sales were weaker than expected following the adverse market condition, and also, the launch of some titles was postponed to the next fiscal year," noted the company.

"The demand was generally weak in the US and European markets due to the headwind like sluggish personal consumption. Further penetration of the current generation of game platforms with price revision and market revitalisation in accordance therewith are expected in the future."