Japanese gaming giant Sega Sammy Holdings reported a 19.9% year-on-year decrease in profit attributable to owners of the parent to JPY9.62 billion (US$65.3 million) in the six months to 30 September 2022, despite net sales increasing across all operating segments.
The company this week reported an 11.3% increase in net sales to JPY150.1 billion (US$1.02 billion), including a 47.4% increase in sales from its resorts business to JPY5.65 billion (US$38.4 million) and 18% increase in pachinko and pachislot to JPY27.5 billion (US$186.7 million).
The resorts business comprises its 45% stake in South Korean casino resort Paradise City, located in Incheon, as well as the non-gaming Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki, Japan.
While Paradise City continued to generate a loss for the period as it recovers from COVID-19, that loss narrowed from JPY3.96 billion (US$26.9 million) in the prior year period to JPY2.39 billion (US$16.2 million) with Sega Sammy noting some promising indications in recent months. This has included “signs of recovery in the number of Japanese VIPs …. due to partially relaxed travel restrictions from June 2022.
“Since high demand is also expected in the future, the Group will continue to strengthen the acquisition of customers such as enhancing marketing, etc,” it said.
In the pachinko and pachislot segment, which reversed a JPY1.32 billion (US$9.0 million) loss a year earlier to record a JPY2.01 billion (US$13.6 million) profit, Sega Sammy said it was benefiting from the supply of new machine models required under changes to regulation and of game titles to match.
“The introduction of No. 6.5 models as a new regulation responding to the revision of regulation has been progressing since June 2022, and titles supported by users have appeared one after another with the recovery of utilization level after their introduction,” the company said.
“Also, smart pachislot from November 2022, and smart pachinko from around spring 2023, will offer an expanding range of gameplay and are scheduled to be introduced, leading to expectations for further demand expansion.”
Sega Sammy’s Entertainment Contents segment, comprising console and arcade games, net sales grew 8.5% year-on-year to JPY116.6 billion (US$791.5 million) although segment profit declined by 24.1% to JPY17.2 billion (US$116.8 million).
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