GGRAsia – Konami gaming revenue down, firm lifts revenue forecast

Konami gaming revenue down, firm lifts revenue forecast

Feb 01, 2018 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Rest of Asia

Konami Holdings Corp’s gaming and system division reported revenue of approximately JPY20.7 billion (US$190.5 million) for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, down by 4.9 percent compared to the prior-year period. Operating income for the segment also declined by 8.6 percent year-on-year to nearly JPY2.7 billion, said on Wednesday the Japanese entertainment industry conglomerate.

In the gaming segment, Konami operates outside Japan via Konami Australia Pty Ltd and U.S.-based Konami Gaming Inc.

Konami explained that the decline in revenue in the firm’s gaming and system segment was due to the decline in the installations of new slot machines and the postponement of a part of the installation of a casino management system during the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2018.

The company said that in the three months to December 31 it expanded the sales of their Concerto video game cabinet in the North American market and focused on sales of the Podium cabinet series. The firm said additionally that the Synkros casino management system was performing well and was being steadily introduced into casinos in the U.S. and cruise ships in service overseas.

On Wednesday, Konami said it sees more opportunities in the gaming business, including the legalisation of skill-based slot machines in some U.S. states serviced as “a countermeasure against young people’s lack of interest in gaming slot machines”.

The president and chief executive of Konami Gaming, Steve Sutherland, told GGRAsia in an interview last year that the millennial player segment is one of the areas that the group is keen to explore in order to promote business growth.

Group wide, Konami reported revenue of approximately JPY178.7 billion for the nine months ended December 31, an increase of 9 percent year-on-year. Net income for the period rose by 26.1 percent compared to the prior-year period to JPY26.0 billion.

Beside casino slot gaming, the Japanese conglomerate is also involved in the Japan-focused pachinko game segment, digital entertainment – including video games and mobile games – and health and fitness.

The company also announced on Wednesday the upward revision of its consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Konami now expects its full-year revenue to reach JPY245 billion, compared to a previous forecast of JPY240 billion. The forecast for the fiscal year’s net profit was also lifted to JPY29 billion, an upward adjustment of 7.4 percent.

In a separated press release, U.S.-based Konami Gaming announced the release of its “Fortune Cup” game for the U.S. and Canada markets. The product combines a traditional horse racing-themed mechanical game with digital betting stations.

Tom Jingoli, Konami Gaming’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement that the newly released horse-racing game was “designed to provide new entertainment options to players and appeal to a broad audience”.