Capcom Raises Forecasts Despite Profit Drop

Officials from Japanese publisher and developer Capcom have announced details of the company’s financial third quarter, with net sales rising by 4.8 percent to ¥51.66 billion ($484.5m) but net income dropping by 17.8 percent to ¥3.57 billion ($33.5m). The company’s mixed results were blamed on a still unsettled Japanese and world economy, but helped by a video games business which was still experiencing smooth growth “accelerated by the expanded user base with an increase in novice users including seniors and females.” Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles for the Wii was noted as a strong seller in the West, while Monster Hunter Freedom 2 was one of the company’s biggest sellers in Japan, with sales of over 1.5 million units. The success of the ongoing Resident Evil movie franchise also helped the company, but its overall results were adversely affected by its arcade operations and coin-op divisions, the business environment for which was described as “stagnant”. Capcom’s home video games business outperformed the company as a whole, with net sales up by 23.3 percent to ¥30.85 billion ($289.5m) and operating income up 38.2 percent on the previous year to ¥6,039 billion ($56.7m). Sales for Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure on Wii and Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes on PlayStation 2 and Wii were described as growing “steadily”, while the growth for We Love Golf! on Wii and Mega Man: Star Force 2 on Nintendo DS was described as “sluggish”. With cumulative sales of the recently released Devil May Cry 4 estimated to reach 1.9 million by March 31st, the company predicates that its full year results will see an operating profit increase of 20 percent to ¥11.5 billion ($107.9m) – up 15 percent on previous forecasts. Revenue expectations were also raised to 9.5 percent and ¥78 billion ($731.9m) while net income forecasts remain steady at an increase of 5.9 percent to ¥6.2 billion ($58.2m).