Bandai Namco Entertainment published its Q1 FY25 financial results. The company recorded a 56% increase in profits and significant increases in net sales and profits during the first quarter.

The company's initial forecast for FY25 was for net sales of $6.9 billion (¥1.08 trillion), which included net profits of $520.3 million (¥81 billion). The previous announcement of the company's financial expectations remains the same, despite its first quarter performance, but the company has revised its estimates for the six months ending September 30th.

For the period ending September 30th, the company announced a revision to its expectation for net sales from $3.5 billion (¥515 billion) to $3.7 billion (¥555 billion) and adjusted its expectation for profits from $273 million (¥40 billion) to $410 million (¥60 billion).

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Acts As Revenue Catalyst
The publisher saw strong growth in its digital entertainment sales, which increa sed by 55.8% over the previous year, good for $725 million (¥106 billion). A lot of this growth came from the release of FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Bandai Namco marketed the expansion to the original Elden Ring game in a similar to the way the publisher markets a full game.

Internal anticipation for the launch was high. The company noted that the expansion was the largest FromSoftware had ever built and believed it went beyond the traditional scope of downloadable content, being the size of many standalone games.

Shadow of the Erdtree launched in both digital and physical formats and sought to build on the initial game's success. Within three days of its release, Shadow of the Erdtree sold 5 million units globally, setting the game up to be one of the most successful of 2024, despite some initial concerns from fans over the game's performance.

Growth from non-FromSoft sources came from strong sales in the company's amusement segment, which saw 17% growth over the previous year, increasing to $25,760 (¥33 million).

In the previous financial year, FY24, Bandai Namco was in a two-year sales slump, especially in its digital entertainment sales.

FY24 was headlined by favorable sales from games like Armored Core 6 and Tekken 8, as well as contributions from its mobile apps. However, digital sales fell short of their expectations.

Hype and sales for Shadow of the Erdtree have slowed since its initial release. If Bandai Namco's release schedule does not offer a game with the potential for similar commercial success to Shadow of the Erdtree, the company can continue to rely on its Toys and Hobby segments, which remain a standout segment.

Posted: Aug 15, 2024 2:32 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/bandai-namco-announces-financial-results/