Konami Announces the Fifth Year of Consecutive Profit Growth, Second of Record Operating Profit

Konami announced its financial results for the full fiscal year ended on March 31, 2019, and they’re very positive.

As you can see in the tables in the gallery below, income figures are firmly in the black, and show sizable growth year-on-year.

As a matter of fact, Konami reported five consecutive years of profit growth and two consecutive years of record operating profit (three if you count net profit).

Profit is expected to grow further in the current fiscal year (ending on March 31, 2020) but a one-time expense related to the relocation of the Konami Creative Center Ginza will offset that.

The Digital Entertainment business (which includes gaming alongside card games, as “gaming & systems” is about arcades) is the biggest contributor to the company’s revenue and profits, and the one showing the largest growth.

We also get a breakdown of the results of the Digital Entertainment business:

“In the entertainment market, future development of game contents is expected through the functional enhancement of various devices, including mobile devices and video game consoles, and the standardization of next generation communication systems.

In conjunction with the changing times, the preference for enriching daily life through full and abundant experiences in personal spending has been strengthened. In the game industry, new experiences through game content are being offered in various ways, including eSports, which is regarded as a form of
sports competition and is becoming well-known to a wide range of users and attracting more and more fans.

Under such circumstances, as for mobile games in the Digital Entertainment segment, Yu-Gi-Oh! DUEL LINKS, which is now celebrating its second anniversary since its release and has surpassed 90 million downloads, has led our revenue in the global market. In addition, Winning Eleven 2019 (known overseas as PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2019) has increased its revenue through a variety of TVcommercials.

In the domestic market, PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL SPIRITS A (Ace) has continued to perform well, as it did in the third quarter, and various other titles such as JIKKYOU PAWAFURU PUROYAKYU also continued to perform strongly.

Furthermore, as part of our continued active efforts in eSports, we announced that we would be co-hosting the “eJ.LEAGUE Winning Eleven 2019 Season” in cooperation with the Japan Professional Football League (J.LEAGUE) with our mobile game Winning Eleven 2019 as the competition title.

[…]

As for computer and video games, myClub, the online mode of Winning Eleven 2019 (known overseas as PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2019), has performed well through  running promotions along with its mobile version. As part of our continued active efforts in eSports, we hosted the qualifying rounds in various regions for the world championship “PES LEAGUE WORLD TOUR 2019” for Winning Eleven 2019 (known overseas as PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2019).

In regard to baseball contents, we hosted the “eBASEBALL PAWAPURO Pro League 2018-19 SMBC eNippon Series,”which decided who the first best players were at the “eBASEBALL PAWAPURO Pro
League” in Japan, that we organized along with Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).”

Konami also offers the outlook for the performance of its gaming-related products.

With the spread of entertainment offered through networks, the available means of providing games continue to diversify. Opportunities to reach an even greater audience for games are increasing. Against this background, we intend to develop ways of playing games that match the characteristics of each device.

As for mobile games, we implemented closed testing to release LOVEPLUS EVERY, the latest title in the LOVEPLUS series. The new title, DANKIRA!!! – Boys, be DANCING!, started pre-registration and the number of applicants is increasing.

In addition, we would be co-hosting the “eJ.LEAGUE Winning Eleven 2019 season,” whose competition title is the mobile game, WINNING ELEVEN 2019, that we organize in cooperation with the Japan Professional Football League (J.LEAGUE).

[…]

As for computer and video games, we will release an exclusive, download-only title for the Nintendo Switch, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution.

As for the baseball titles, we are working on the latest title in the PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL SPIRITS series, PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL SPIRITS 2019, to respond to the high expectations of fans. Furthermore, JIKKYOU PAWAFURU PUROYAKYU, which allows up to four players, is intended to be released for the Nintendo Switch.

As part of our continued active efforts in eSports, we will host the final round for the world championship “PES LEAGUE WORLD TOUR 2019” for Winning Eleven 2019 (known overseas as PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2019).

The Winning Eleven series were selected as a Culture Program at the 74th national Sports Festival held in 2019, “Iki Iki Ibaraki Yume Kokutai” and the qualifying rounds to decide the representatives in each prefecture has started. In addition, the “eBASEBALL PAWAPURO Pro League” season in 2019 was decided to be held and will be organized along with the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

If you want to compare, you can check out the results for the previous quarter, released in January.