Sega Sammy reports 31 per cent rise in profits

Sega Sammy Holdings has posted its financial report for the year ended March 31st, revealing a 31 per cent rise in net profit that was boosted by strong sales of videogames in local and international markets.

Net profit was posted at YEN 66.2 billion (EURO 469.4 million), with operating profit growing by 13 per cent as a result of a 7 per cent spike in overall sales at YEN 553.2 billion (EURO 3.9 billion).

Sales for the company's pachinko slot machine business have dipped, but any loss has been offset by a substantial growth in videogames sales both in Japan and international territories. The company recorded software sales of 16.4 million units during 2005 - 6.14 million copies in the US, 6.06 million in Europe, 4.1 million in Japan and 100,000 in other regions around the world.

The company cites several software titles as strong contributors to its increased profit within Japan and Western markets. Sales of Shadow the Hedgehog - which sold in excess of 1 million copies - and additional titles in the Sonic franchise continue to boost both market share and profits for the firm.

Sega has recently announced several high profile software development acquisitions, including Sports Interactive and San Francisco-based Secret Level, forming the basis of the company's plans to "purchase competitive titles and brands, and acquire overseas development companies in order to obtain and increase its capacity for development."

Looking ahead for fiscal year 2006, Sega Sammy is expecting software sales of approximately 8.9 million in Europe, 6.7 million in Japan and 6.3 million in the US, for a total of more than 21.9 million copies and a net income of YEN 75 billion (EURO 532.8 million) based on projections of YEN 682 billion (EURO 4.8 billion) sales.