Capcom FY2011 financials see profits up 257%
End of year results praise Monster Hunter for boost as Japanese publisher weathers earthquake crisis
Capcom has announced its end of financial year results for the period ending March, 2011 - revealing profit growth of 257.6 per cent and an increase in sales of 46.2 per cent over the previous year.
The company profits for the term were ¥7.75 billion (£59m) compared to ¥2.16 billion (£16.4) for the 2010 financial year. Sales were up to ¥97.7 billion (£744m) from ¥66.83 billion (£509m).
Monster Hunter Portable 3, released in Japan on PSP on December 1, 2010, shipped over 4.6 million units in the territory and is credited with a large share of the increased revenues.
Alongside that, four titles which Capcom describes as 'designed for foreign markets': Dead Rising 2, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter IV and Lost Planet 2, all sold over one million copies each. Net sales from these 'consumer online games' were up 60.8 per cent from last year, totalling ¥70,269 million (£535m).
Whilst these titles were singled out as top performers, no figures were given for sales of Street Fighter IV 3DS - although that title only released in Japan on February 26, 2011 and in Japan and Europe at the end of March. Capcom's figures released elsewhere for that title put global sales north of one million units.
Social games are also a growth area for the publisher, with Smurf Village and Zombie Cafe continuing to perform well and contribute to a 13.3 per cent growth in the department's net sales. Sales of games via DeNA's Mobage service were also a contributory factor.
The strong results are in spite of a difficult year for the company, with ¥1.45 billion being spent on corporate restructuring and ¥105 million estimated loss from the earthquake, tsunami and related problems earlier this year which resulted in ten of Capcom's arcades being closed.