Square Enix posts 'record-high' sales and profits as key franchises deliver

Final Fantasy maker Square Enix pulled in "record-high" sales and profits over the past 12 months, according to its financials for the year ended March 31, 2016. 

It's a revelation that adds an extra layer of intrigue to the publisher's decision to sell off Hitman developer IO Interactive. 

Indeed, despite having one of the best years on record, Square Enix today revealed it would be parting ways with the Danish studio to "maximize player satisfaction as well as market potential going forward."

Honing back in on the numbers, Square pulled in company-wide revenues of 257 billion yen ($2.26 billion), a year-over-year increase of 20 percent. Profit was also on the up, rising by 0.8 percent to 20 billion yen ($176 million) -- and that's despite the 4.89 billion yen ($43 million) extraordinary loss that came with dropping IO Interactive. 

In the Digital Entertainment segment, which houses the company's video game operations and makes up the majority of its business, sales rose by 25 percent to 199 billion yen ($1.75 billion). 

According to Square, major releases like Final Fantasy XV and Rise of the Tomb Raider drove sales in the division, particularly in the console arena.

It also waxed lyrical about its mobile and PC browsers titles, and talked up the performances of Hoshi No Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, and Kindgom Hearts Union X. 

Looking ahead, Square expects to pull in net sales of 240 billion yen ($2.11 billion) and profits of 16.5 billion yen ($145.2 million) by the end of the next fiscal year on March 31, 2018.