Square Enix Alters First-Half Forecast In Light Of Deus Ex: Human Revolution Success

Square Enix has revised its financial forecast for the first half of the current fiscal year, more than doubling its originally estimated profits. The publisher put this alteration down to the success of recently-released Deus Ex: Human Revolution, as well as increased revenue from web content. It noted that income from content for smartphones and social networking services was "relatively higher" than it had previously forecast, and had exceeded the company's original plan. Elsewhere, Square Enix also saw greater revenue generated from its Amusement and Publication departments, with the operating of amusement facilities achieving higher revenue than anticipated, and sales of comic books very strong. For the six months ended September 30, the company altered its forecast to reflect revenue of ¥57 billion ($729.9 million), up 1.8 percent compared to the originally estimated ¥56 billion ($717.1 million). Meanwhile, forecated profits were up an impressive 146.7 percent to ¥3.7 billion ($47.4 million), from the original forecast of ¥1.5 billion ($19.2 million). However, the company also noted that its forecast for the full fiscal year remains unchanged, due to the rapid appreciation of the Japanese yen. Indeed, for the first half of the current fiscal year, the company has recorded a ¥2.1 billion ($26.9 million) foreign exchange loss.