Segas profits rise 200%

Sega Sammy Holdings has posted a year-on-year increase of almost 200 per cent for its fiscal year ending March 31.

Profits hit 151.8m in the period, up from a loss of 171.3m in the same period last year, while total sales were down 10.4 per cent year-on-year.

These figures take all of Sega Sammy’s business avenues into account including arcade machines, amusement facilities, video games and gambling slot machines.

In the video game software market alone, net sales were down 7.5 per cent year-on-year while profits hit 47.3m, up from a loss of 6.8m the year before. The group cited its success to a number of key titles including Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics, Bayonetta and Aliens vs. Predator.

In a statement Sega Sammy said: Demand was generally weak in the US and European home video game software markets due to sluggish personal consumption.

The group needs to adapt to the changing business environment in which the market for new content geared to social networking sites and smart phones is expanding.”

Last month Sega announced plans to restructure, with operations in North America concentrating on the digital market while its European office focuses on core games.