Shochiku Co. swung to a loss for the fiscal year ended February 2025 as its core film and theater divisions struggled, but projected a sharp turnaround for the coming year.
The Japanese entertainment company reported a net loss of ¥664 million ($4.4 million), compared with a profit of ¥3.02 billion a year earlier. Sales fell 1.7% to ¥83.97 billion. Operating profit plunged 53.6% to ¥1.66 billion, while the company posted an ordinary loss of ¥2.5 billion versus a profit of ¥2.87 billion previously.
Results were hammered by significant profit declines in Shochiku’s flagship film business, where segment profit plummeted 83% despite box office success with several titles exceeding ¥10 billion in ticket sales. The theatrical division widened its loss to ¥1.18 billion from ¥704 million a year earlier.
The company attributed the overall loss primarily to a ¥4.51 billion equity method investment loss recorded as a non-operating expense. Real estate remained the sole bright spot, with segment profit rising 5.5% to ¥5.81 billion.
For fiscal 2026, Shochiku projects sales will jump 13.1% to ¥95 billion and expects to swing back to profitability with net income of ¥2 billion. The dramatic forecast improvement suggests management believes recent film performance issues are temporary.
