Sega Sammy posts profit in spite of stuttering physical game sales

Sega is the latest company to post its financials for the six-month period ended September 30, with the company posting a profit in spite of stuttering physical game sales.

Sega described digital game sales as a "growth driver," and although the company has admitted that digital sales at the start of the year failed to meet expectations, it said sales of existing titles such as Phantasy Star Online 2, Puyopuyo Quest, and Chain Chronicle have been "robust."

New digital releases Hortensia Saga, Monster Gear, and Sen-no-kaizoku, also got off to a strong start. The company's physical releases have been underperforming, with Sega only shipping 3.2 million physical games this year - a figure that's being put down to "the lack of sales of major titles."

Overall net sales dipped by 2.5 percent, dropping to 154.3 billion yen ($1.28 billion) from 158.2 billion yen ($1.31 billion). The company has also posted a profit of 964 million yen ($7.9 million), a welcome boost given that Sega registered an overall loss of 2.8 billion yen ($23.3 million) at the same point last year.

The company recently slashed its forecasts for the six-month period ended September 30, due to its faltering pachinko business.

Sales in the company's Entertainment Contents Business segment, which houses its games division, were flat at 90.6 billion yen ($751.4 million). Operating income in this sector rose by 138.6 percent year-over-year, jumping to 1.5 billion yen ($13.1 million) from 660 million yen ($5.5 million).

Sega now expects to end the year with an overall profit of 19 billion yen ($157.6 million).