Toei Animation Co., Ltd. announced record first-quarter results for the fiscal year ending March 2025, driven by robust sales of distribution rights and growth in its copyright business. The company reported sales of ¥23.059 billion (US$162.8 million), marking a 16.0% increase from the same period last year. Operating profit surged by 219.0% to ¥6.684 billion (US$47.2 million), ordinary profit grew by 82.5% to ¥7.187 billion (US$50.7 million), and net profit increased by 70.0% to ¥5.306 billion (US$37.5 million).
Sales of domestic distribution rights for “Slam Dunk” and “GeGeGe no Kitaro,” along with overseas distribution rights for “One Piece,” significantly contributed to the revenue increase. The company’s video production and sales business saw a 25.6% increase in sales to ¥9.145 billion (US$64.6 million), with the segment profit reaching ¥2.367 billion (US$16.7 million), recovering from a loss of ¥2.269 billion last year.
In the theatrical animation division, releases such as “Kitaro Birth: The Mystery of Gegege” and “Butt Detective: Farewell, My Dear Butt” added to revenue, although there was a decline compared to the previous year’s success of “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.” The TV anime division aired six series, including “One Piece” and “Wonderful Pretty Cure!,” but experienced a revenue decrease due to a strong performance in game audio production last year.
The content division benefited from strong Blu-ray and DVD sales of “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK,” while the overseas video division saw a significant sales boost from “One Piece” distribution rights. The copyright business also performed well, with a 14.2% increase in sales to ¥11.184 billion (US$79.1 million) and a 13.9% rise in segment profit to ¥5.579 billion (US$39.5 million), driven by game rights for the Dragon Ball series and strong merchandising rights sales for “One Piece” and “Dragon Ball.”
Merchandise sales decreased by 5.6% to ¥2.266 billion (US$16 million), with segment profit falling 58.3% to ¥189 million (US$1.3 million), impacted by a decline from last year’s merchandise sales for “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.” However, the other business segment saw a 34.1% increase in sales to ¥638 million (US$4.5 million) and a segment profit turnaround to ¥31 million (US$219,000) due to successful special events and character shows, particularly for the “PreCure” series.
Despite these strong quarterly results, Toei Animation has maintained its full-year earnings forecast, projecting sales of ¥82 billion (US$579.3 million), operating profit of ¥20 billion (US$141.4 million), ordinary profit of ¥20.5 billion (US$145 million), and net profit of ¥15 billion (US$106.1 million), reflecting a year-on-year decline as previously forecasted.
