Square Enix Swings to a Profit, Boosts Income Forecast Substantially

Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix swung to a profit for the latest quarter, and is so optimistic about the future that it has revised its sales forecast, and now expects generate three times the net income it originally projected.

The news came from Square Enix's earnings report today for the quarter ended June 30. In the report (via Gamasutra), Square Enix said it now expects to post around ¥71 billion ($693.5 million) in revenue for the six-month period ending September 30, 2014, and about ¥3.5 billion ($34.2 million) in profit. This compares to the company's previous forecast of around ¥66 billion ($644.6 million) in revenue and ¥1.3 billion ($12.7 million) in income.

Why is Square Enix so optimistic? The company says the revised earnings projects are attributable to factors including repeat sales of console games "exceeding the original plan," as well as company-wide cost reduction efforts.

Square Enix's Digital Entertainment division, the company's game unit, posted revenue of ¥23.5 billion ($229.5 million) during the quarter, a 102.6 percent increase from the ¥11.6 billion ($113.3 million) recorded during the same period last year. Operating income was ¥4.5 billion ($43.9 million), a dramatic year-over-year increase, as the company posted ¥1.3 billion ($12.7 million) in operating income last year.

The company mentioned that Murdered: Soul Suspect was released during the quarter, but did not provide a sales update. That game's developer--Airtight Games--has since shut its doors. The company also said that Final Fantasy XIV and Dragon Quest X have been "making favorable progress."

Overall, Square Enix posted revenue of ¥37.8 billion ($369.4 million) for the quarter, up 56.8 percent compared to last year. Profit was ¥3.4 billion ($33.2 million) a significant improvement compared to last year, when Square Enix saw a loss of ¥493 million ($4.8 million).