Sega Sammy reports huge drop in profits

Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. has published its financial report for the quarter ending June 30th, revealing a 93 per cent drop in net profits compared to the same period last year.

Net income stood at 5.28 million Euro - down from 72.9 million Euro a year earlier. Sales also fell from 687 million Euro to 600 million Euro, a drop of almost 15 per cent.

According to Sega, the decrease in earnings was due to an absence of big releases by its slot machine division during the quarter. Sales of pachinko and slot machines were down by more than 55 per cent from 340.6 million Euro to 148.8 million Euro.

A total of 2.1 million games were sold during the period - 870,000 in the US, 680,000 in Europe and 580,000 in Asia. The Sonic franchise performed particularly well in the West.

Sega Sammy confirmed that the results are "roughly in line with expectations" and did not amend the company's full-year forecast. Net profits are predicted to stand at 535.2 million Euro, with sales at 4.9 billion Euro.