Toei Animation reported a 15.5% decline in first-quarter revenue to ¥19.49 billion ($131.7 million) as the Japanese animation studio faced difficult comparisons with the prior year’s blockbuster performance of “The First Slam Dunk” and domestic streaming rights sales.
Despite the revenue drop, the animation company maintained resilient profitability, with operating profit falling just 1.6% to ¥6.58 billion ($44.4 million) for the three months ended June. The quarter marked the third-highest first-quarter revenue and second-highest operating profit in company history, according to the earnings statement.
The Tokyo-based studio’s licensing division provided a bright spot, with revenue climbing 5.1% to ¥11.76 billion ($79.5 million) as overseas merchandising rights for “One Piece” and “Digimon” series performed well. However, this growth was overshadowed by a 40.4% plunge in film production and sales revenue to ¥5.45 billion ($36.8 million).
Dragon Ball remains Toei’s highest-earning franchise, generating 19 billion yen overall, while One Piece follows closely with 18.4 billion yen in sales according to recent franchise performance data.
The merchandise division struggled with a 32% revenue decline to ¥1.54 billion ($10.4 million), primarily due to the comparison effect from last year’s popular Slam Dunk movie merchandise sales.
Toei maintained its full-year guidance, projecting revenue of ¥88 billion ($595 million) and operating profit of ¥26 billion ($176 million) for fiscal 2026, representing declines of 1.8% and 19.8% respectively.
