The financial result for Kadokawa Corporation for the fiscal year 2022 which ran from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, is finally detailing some very interesting information, particularly with the change ups of the group’s best publishing and video titles. Before we dive into that, the group has reported its best net sales and profit ever with a year-on-year change of 5.4% for net sales to 221,208 million yen (≈1.73 billion USD) while profit soared by 46.9% over the previous fiscal year to 14,078 million yen (≈109.93 million USD) amid strong demand of its publishing titles from both overseas and digital markets. Another reason that attributed to the strong growth was the entrance of the hit title, Elden Ring which made its debut on February 25, 2022, contributing to significant climb in sales and profit for its Video Game segment. Note that according to its presentation material (please see page 40), Elden Ring has a cumulative shipment worldwide of 13.4 million copies as of March 31 with 1 million copies shipped domestically.
Its Publishing Business continues its stellar performance with net sales reporting a 2.55% increase year-on-year to 132,972 million yen (≈1.04 billion USD), accounting for 60.11% of its total sales groupwide while operating profit for the segment marked a 26.07% improvement over the previous fiscal year to 17,370 million yen (≈135.83 million USD). According to its Securities Report (please refer to the source section), the group noted a high growth through its overseas business driven by YEN PRESS, LLC, and strong sales experienced for its e-books and e-magazines’ businesses. Note that its paper-based books are still its largest sales contributor while e-books and e-magazines combined are its second biggest. As for the general breakdown for sales of its paper-based books (please see presentation material page 39), 38% belongs to Manga while Light Novel accounts to 15% of its total sales. While sales of paper-based Manga have grown (by 4%) year-on-year, sales of its Light Novels have retreated by 15%.
As for its best publishing titles, there have been some movements on the Top 10 chart. Sword Art Online has retained its position as the Number 1 title for the group, at the same time titles from Number 2 to Number 6 remain unchanged from its Top 10 titles for the Quarter 3 report which I published back in March. Bungou Stray Dogs which was not on the list previously has now crawled all its way to clinch the 7th spot as Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! slid two spots to Number 9. Love Live climbed a spot to Number 8 while Youjo Senki had to contend with Number 10, two spots down from the 8th position it occupied previously for Quarter 3. The Fate series which was 10th in the previous Quarter 3 report was jettisoned out of the Top 10 list. Together, the Top 10 has a total of 10,638 million yen (≈83.18 million USD) in sales, accounting to 8% of its total sales for the segment and selling an additional 1,844 million yen (≈14.40 million USD) between January 1 and March 31, 2022. Note that sales include revenue from rights licensing.
Publication Top 10
(April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022)
| Rank | Title | Pub. Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sword Art Online | 2009 |
| 2 | Kadokawa Manga Gakushu Series | 2015 |
| 3 | Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu | 2014 |
| 4 | Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei | 2011 |
| 5 | Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu | 2017 |
| 6 | Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? | 2015 |
| 7 | Bungou Stray Dogs | 2013 |
| 8 | Love Live! | 2013 |
| 8 | Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! | 2012 |
| 10 | Youjo Senki | 2004 |
| Total (¥) | 10,637,760,000 |
Its Video and Video Game Businesses has bounced by 8.84% year-on-year to record a total of 52,602 million yen (≈410.68 million USD) in sales, and operating profit witnessed an upgrade of 23.28% to 6,541 million yen (≈51.08 million USD). Note that, Kadokawa Corporation joined the two segments together in their old reporting, but this time has split the two. As for the breakdown, the Video Business alone is at 33,112 million yen (≈258.56 million USD) in sales while operating profit is at 1,341 million yen (≈10.47 million USD). Its Video Game business is at 19,490 million yen (≈152.13 million USD), and operating profit is at 5,200 million yen (≈40.59 million USD). While net sales have increased overall for its Video Business, its operating profit has decreased by 41% from the fiscal year before due to the absence of overseas sales for Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu’s second season and the loss of Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! licensing rights. And as mentioned before, the strong turnout for its Video Game Business is mainly driven by the strong sales of Elden Ring.
As for its best video titles, there are some changes observed on the Top 10. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu maintains its Number 1 position, the same with Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! at Number 2, but the slip by Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? (from the previous quarterly report) to Number 5 has paved the way for both Overlord and Bungou Stray Dogs to climb a spot each to occupy the 3rd and 4th positions. Other changes include the Fate series climbing two spots to Number 6 while Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari which was absent before is now 7th on the list, which is evidently a result of its currently ongoing broadcast of Season 2. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu retreated one and three spots respectively as they both placed side by side at Number 8 and 9. Finally, Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita which was broadcasted between October and December 2021 is 10th on the list. As for the titles that were in the previous quarterly ranking and were left out of the Top 10 this time around, they are: Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru. and Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! In total, the Top 10 accounts for 26% of the total sales which would be 8,609 million yen (≈67.18 million USD) while the rest is at 25,503 million yen (≈199.09 million USD). Between January 1 and March 31, the segment added 1,435 million yen (≈11.20 million USD) in sales. Note that sales include revenue from rights licensing.
Video Top 10
(April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022)
| Rank | Title | Brod. Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu | 2016 |
| 2 | Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! | 2016 |
| 3 | Overlord | 2015 |
| 4 | Bungou Stray Dogs | 2016 |
| 5 | Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? | 2021 |
| 6 | Fate | 2013 |
| 7 | Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari | 2019 |
| 8 | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | 2020 |
| 9 | Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu | 2021 |
| 10 | Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita | 2021 |
| Total (¥) | 8,609,120,000 |
Kadokawa Corporation is incorporated in Japan with its headquarter located in Tokyo. The company owns several well-know entities including: BOOK WALKER, FromSoftware, Spike Chunsoft and YEN PRESS. It is publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under the ticket symbol 9468.
Note:
All currency conversion was done at the time of writing. 1 USD = 128.16 yen
Sources:
Presentation Materials for FY2022
Securities Report for FY2022
Google Charts
Kadokawa Corporation’s Sales and Profit or Loss (FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Publishing Business Sales and Operating Profit or Loss (FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Publishing Business in Yen (FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Video and Video Game Sales and Operating Profit or Loss (FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Video Business in Yen (FY2022)
Visualisation:
Top 10 Publishing Titles
Top 10 Video Titles
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