Square Enix had to record declining sales in the last financial quarter. However, profits developed in the opposite direction.
Square Enix has released its financial results for the three-month period ending June 30, 2024 announcedNet sales fell by a whopping 18.4 percent compared to the same period last year to the equivalent of around 442 million euros.
Square Enix cites a strong previous year’s quarter, in which “Final Fantasy 16” and “Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster” were released, as the reason for the decline. Despite the decline, Square Enix was able to increase profits significantly.
Development costs and advertising expenses were less significant
Square Enix’s operating income rose by more than 250 percent to 68.6 million euros in the three-month period. The profit attributable to the owners of the parent company is 67.2 million euros.
How did the higher profits come about? Due to lower depreciation on development costs and advertising expenses, the company was able to post more cash as profit this year.
The MMO sub-segment also recorded an increase in sales and profits compared to the previous year. The current quarter does not include the expansion “Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail” released in July. However, the add-on seemed to have attracted more attention even before its launch.
It is expected that the upcoming quarterly reports will show a significant increase in profit thanks to “Dawntrail”.
In the mobile gaming space, revenues have declined, likely due to weak sales of existing titles, including the free-to-play gacha game “Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis.”
Further news about the Final Fantasy series:
Forecast for the entire financial year
For the entire fiscal year (until the end of March 2025), Square Enix expects sales of the equivalent of 1.96 billion euros. Compared to the previous year, this would be a decrease of 13 percent. It is unclear what influence “Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth”, released on February 29, 2024 – and thus in the previous fiscal year – will have on this. The title is not mentioned in the latest annual report, which means that the sales figures also remain a secret. However, sales are said to be below expectations.
The final chapter of the trilogy has yet to be fully revealed and there is no set release date yet. However, director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the popular card game “Queen’s Blood” will return in a remastered version.
Overall, Square Enix expects operating profit for the twelve months of the entire fiscal year to increase by 22.9 percent to around 253 million euros, so that the decline in sales can be tolerated.
More news about Square Enix.
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