Japan Cash Machine Co Ltd, also known as JCM Global, says it expects its overall sales in the second half of its financial year to “slow down compared to the first half”. That is mainly “due to the end of the special demand” associated with the issue of new domestic banknotes, stated the company in its interim report for the April to September period.
Japan issued its first new banknotes in two decades in July. The new cash is fitted with new technology to curb counterfeits.
JCM, a firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, makes machines that validate banknotes and handle currency, as well as manufacturing printers for casino gaming machines and other gaming hardware-related devices.
In its latest half-year report, JCM said the group’s sales, operating income, and ordinary income “are expected to exceed the previous year’s levels as demand from the gaming market is expected to remain strong”.
The firm added: “Taking into account fluctuations in exchange rates, we expect net income to be roughly the same as in the previous year.”
In November, JCM reported a net profit of JPY2.49 billion (US$16.6 million currently) in the six months to September 30, the group’s first financial half. Such profit was up 81.6 percent year-on-year.
The company reported net sales of just above JPY21.25 billion for the April to September period, up 59.5 percent from a year earlier.
Sales in the group’s global gaming business rose by 63.6 percent year-on-year in the six months to September 30, to JPY10.68 billion, the firm stated.
The improved performance was supported by an “increase in sales of bill validator units and printer units for casino gaming machines in North America and Europe,” the firm said at the time.
In 2023, JCM said it was targeting net sales of JPY38.50 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2026, as part of the group’s medium-term management plan up to 2032.
