Bushiroad Inc., the Japanese entertainment company behind popular trading card games and music productions, reported a steep decline in quarterly profit as rising costs offset revenue growth.
Net income dropped 80% to 59 million yen ($393,000) in the three months ended September, compared with 299 million yen a year earlier. The Tokyo-based company posted an ordinary loss of 6 million yen, contrasting with a 770 million yen profit in the same period last year.
Revenue rose 5.9% to 12.3 billion yen, driven by the company’s gaming and entertainment segments. However, operating profit fell 18% to 510 million yen as expenses increased across business units.
Despite the weak start to the fiscal year, Bushiroad maintained its full-year forecast, projecting net income to rise 24% to 1 billion yen on sales of 49 billion yen. The company plans to pay a year-end dividend of 4.50 yen per share.
The gaming publisher has been expanding its multimedia entertainment business, though mounting competition in Japan’s mobile gaming market and higher production costs have pressured margins.
