Square Enix Profits More Than Double Year-Over-Year

Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix today announced financial results for the six-month period ended September 30, and they were strong. Overall, the Japanese publisher posted revenue of ¥73.1 billion ($637.6 million), compared to ¥61.6 billion ($537.5 million) last year. Meanwhile, profit more than doubled, rising from ¥2.6 billion ($22.7 million) last year to ¥5.7 billion ($49.7 million) this year.

Square Enix said its games for smartphones and PC, such as Dragon Quest Monsters Super Light, Schoolgirls Strikers, and Sengoku IXA "continued to post favorable results." Meanwhile, console game sales increased year-over-year, and back catalog sales were particularly "strong" in the Western market, Square Enix said. On top of those, the publisher said its MMO Final Fantasy XIV and Dragon Quest X have been making "favorable progress."

Square Enix is not just a video game company, as the publisher also operates Amusement, Publication, and Merchandising divisions. However, the company's game unit--called Digital Entertainment--was the breadwinner of the bunch, posting more revenue and profit than the other three units combined.

For the period ended September 30, net sales in Square Enix's game division totaled ¥43.7 billion ($381.4 million), an increase of 42.8 percent. Operating income was ¥7.9 billion ($68.9 million), up from ¥3.4 billion ($29.7 million) last year.

Looking ahead, Square Enix has boosted its earnings projections for the fiscal year ending March 2015. The company now expects to haul between ¥150 billion-¥160 billion ($1.3 billion-$1.4 billion), up from the previous forecast of ¥140 billion-¥150 billion ($1.2 billion-$1.3 billion). Square Enix has also revised its profit projection, now expecting to make between ¥7 billion-¥10.5 billion ($61 million-$91 million) for the year, compared to its previous estimation of between ¥3.5-¥6.5 billion ($30.5 million-$56.7 million).