GungHo sales decline for first time in a year

Quarterly sales and profits at Puzzle & Dragons developer and publisher GungHo have fallen 12 per cent to $238m during the last quarter, according to the company’s latest financials.

As reported by Serkan ToTo, sales only fell slightly by five per cent to $424m compared to the previous quarter. It was noted this is the first time figures have dropped since the start of 2012.

It should be noted however the sales and operating profits are still up significantly from the end of 2012 and the start of the year.

The decline in profits also played a part in driving down the coma’n’s share value up to 19 per cent, although it has recovered somewhat since.

Despite the decline, the publisher also still has a market cap of around $9.3 billion.

GungHo recently launched its flagship title Puzzle & Dragons in Europe and the UK on the iOS app store. At the time of writing, the game was ranked 168th in the UK top grossing charts.

Before being released in Europe, Puzzle & Dragons was at one point said to be generating around $4.9 million, mainly from Japan.

As part of the company’s attempts to break into the Western market, GungHo and parent company Softbank recently acquired a 51 per cent stake in Clash of Clans and Hay Day developer Supercell for $1.5 billion.