Square Enix Posts Yearly Results, 14 Percent Rise In Profits

Japanese-headquartered publisher and developer Square Enix has released its yearly financial earnings for the year ended March 31, 2006, within which it indicated a 14 percent rise in profits over the previous year, noting Japanese sales of Final Fantasy XII as a particular highlight. The company reported yearly profits of ¥17.08 ($157.9 million), up from ¥14.93 billion ($132.4 million) reported in 2005. In addition, group sales also saw a significant increase, up from 2005's ¥73.86 billion ($655 million) to ¥124.47 billion ($1.1 billion). The company reported that factors directly related to its purchase of of video game developer Taito in September 2005 as well as the aforementioned sales of Final Fantasy XII as key factors in the reported increase. Interestingly, the company had previously revised its forecasts for the fiscal year in April, citing that marquee titles failed to meet sales expectations by some degree. In addition, despite the increases reported, the company indicated that operating profit dropped more than 40 percent to ¥15.47 billion ($137.1 million) due to expenses relating to both marketing and wages. Looking ahead, Square Enix expects a 36 percent drop in group net profit to ¥11 billion ($97.5 million), while it anticipates a 21 percent rise in sales to ¥150 billion ($1.3 billion).