Namco Bandai trims full-year outlook as Q1 revs slide

Namco Bandai is coming off a rough financial year, in which the publisher saw income slip nearly 64 percent to ¥11.8 billion ($124 million) on total revenue of ¥426 billion ($4.46 billion), a 7 percent dip. Though the publisher expected to take back some of that lost ground by the time its current fiscal year is in the books, Namco Bandai isn't starting the year off on a high note.

Reporting on its first-quarter results for the three months ended June 30 today, Namco Bandai said revenue slipped nearly 16 percent during the period to ¥75.7 billion ($795 million). The revenue shortfall was accompanied by an overall net loss of ¥2.8 billion ($29.8 million) for the quarter, having posted a net profit of ¥1 billion ($10.7 million) during the April-June quarter last year.

Within the publisher's home game software division, Afro Samurai ranked as Namco Bandai's top performer. The Samuel L. Jackson-voiced action adventure sold 420,000 units during the period, having launched to mostly positive reviews in January. Other top performers included Wii Ski & Snowboard with 270,000 units, Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans with 190,000 copies, We Ski with 150,000 copies, and Active Life: Outdoor Challenge with 110,000 units.

Looking ahead to the results of the quarter ending September 30, Namco Bandai expects revenue to come in at ¥1.65 billion ($1.73 billion), a 13.5 percent decline, with losses expected to continue to build to ¥4.7 billion ($49 million). The publisher also revised its full-year forecast downward, saying that it now expects revenues to slide 6.2 percent to ¥400 billion ($4.2 billion) for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010.