Konami slot division reports fall in revenue, op profit
Konami Holdings Corp’s gaming and systems division reported net revenue of JPY21.7 billion (US$191.9 million) for the nine months ended December 31, 2016, down by 10.8 percent from the prior-year period. Operating income for the segment fell 18.8 percent year-on-year to JPY2.9 billion, the Japanese conglomerate said on Tuesday.
In the gaming segment, Konami operates outside Japan via Konami Australia Pty Ltd and U.S.-based Konami Gaming Inc.
Konami said that during the reporting period the gaming and systems division promoted sales of the Concerto video game cabinet as well as the Podium cabinet series. It also pushed sales of the Synkros casino management system “mainly in the U.S., Asian and Oceanian markets,” the firm said.
“In the Asian and Oceanian markets, we developed a richly diverse product line-up, including Concerto and the Podium series,” stated the company.
U.S.-based Konami Gaming had said in August that it would be expanding its Concerto video slot product range. The firm announced last month the release of the slant version of the Concerto video slot machine. It will be available in markets across North America and overseas.
The parent company said the Concerto cabinet was exhibited for the first time in the Asian market at the Macao Gaming Show, a regional casino industry trade exhibition and conference held in November in Macau.
“We also introduced our rich product line-up of the Podium series, including Rapid Revolver and the Frogger series which was utilising our Digital Entertainment business’ intellectual properties. These received considerable attention by visitors from all over the world,” the firm added.
The Japanese conglomerate said it expects its gaming and systems division to continue to grow in the coming years supported by the development and opening of new casino facilities, including in Japan. Legislation making casino gambling legal in Japan came officially into effect on December 26, although investment analysts have said that it could be beyond the year 2021 before the first Japanese casino resort opens.
The company also expects opportunities in the gaming business to grow following regulation to allow skill-based slot machines in some jurisdictions. The new president and chief executive of Konami Gaming, Steve Sutherland, told GGRAsia in a recent interview 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 JPY163.9 billion for the nine months ended December 31, down by 8.5 percent from the prior-year period. Net income for the period however increased by approximately 230 percent to JPY20.7 billion, the firm said. Such increase was supported by cutting expenses by about JPY12.2 billion, according to the company.
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 Tuesday the upward revision of its consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017. Konami said it now expects revenue of JPY225 billion – up from the initial guidance of JPY210 billion – and net profit of JPY24 billion, up by 60 percent compared to the original forecast.
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