IG Port, Inc. has noted a small decrease in sales by 5.97% for the fiscal year 2023 to 11,163,699 thousand yen (≈80.53 million USD), however, the group’s net profit has climbed significantly year-over-year by 3,618% to 763,091 thousand yen (≈5.50 million USD), the largest ever in its history. Note that its profit attributable to parents for the fiscal year was at 766,823 thousand yen (≈5.53 million USD). Much of the massive improvement in profit here can be attributed to certain depreciation expenses that were considered as business expenses which led to a decrease in corporate tax, therefore allowing the group to generate higher profit for the fiscal year.
Note that FY2023 occurred from June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023.
Video Production Business
IG Port describes this segment as the undertaking of Anime production projects. It further describes its clientele as mostly from production committees for TV, films, and OVA. Original animation for streaming services, though, are mainly contracted by the streaming companies themselves whereas for others such as video games, commercials, gaming machines, they tend to be subcontracted by clients and advertising agencies.
Sales from the Video Production Business unit has increased slightly by 2.52% to end the fiscal year at 6,106,968 thousand yen (≈44.06 million USD), the group’s strongest yet since FY2012, however, the change in accounting standards have led to a reduction in profit, down by 78.36% to 87,161 thousand yen (≈628.80 thousand USD).
IG Port delivered among others the following works from left to right:
Tengoku Daimakyou, Hikari no Ou and Ultraman Final
Throughout the fiscal year, the group had delivered a number of projects. For TV, among those that were mentioned were Tengoku Daimakyou (Production I.G), Spy x Family (Wit Studio) and Kizuna no Allele (Wit Studio and Signal.MD). As for streaming shows, that would be Hikari no Ou (Signal.MD) and Ultraman Final (Production I.G and Sola Digital Arts). The segment had also completed Anime films such as Soukyuu no Fafner: Behind the Line (Production I.G, released on January 20, 2023) and Rakudai Majo: Fuuka to Yami no Majo (Production I.G, released on March 31, 2023).
The production of Anime for TV, distribution and video platforms is the group’s breadwinner among all business segments. Within the Video Production Business alone, it accounted for nearly 80% of total sales made for FY2023 at 4,711,839 thousand yen (≈33.99 million USD) with receipts for the production of Anime films coming in second at 14.7%, worth 897,119 thousand yen (≈6.47 million USD). To compare, the production of Anime for TV, distribution and video platforms had increased by 22.08% year-over-year but sales for the production of Anime films have gone down by 25.04%. Nevertheless, the biggest drag for the segment was not Anime film, but it is other related sales from Anime production that saw a 55.16% drop to 360,901 thousand yen (≈2.60 million USD) from 804,841 thousand yen (≈5.81 million USD) the same fiscal year before. Others (not specifically mentioned) which accounts for 2.2% of the total sales jumped 43.24% to 137,108 thousand yen (≈989.13 thousand USD). Not to forget, the segment also incurred depreciation expenses worth 106,878 thousand yen (≈770.73 thousand USD) for the period.
Publishing Business
IG Port describes this segment as the publication and sales of periodical magazines and Manga (tankoubon) as well as related books such as a compilation of illustrations. The segment also license the distribution of their copyrighted materials as e-books.
The segment has also climbed to record the group’s best yet since FY2012, up by 9.69% to 2,903,457 thousand yen (≈20.94 million USD), likewise its profit is also the highest ever recorded at 562,175 thousand yen (≈4.05 million USD), though the growth rate has significantly slowed down to 3.83% whereas the previous fiscal year it had recorded a 31.89% jump.
Much of this growth can be attributed to the success of its group’s e-book department which noted a 15% increase in sales year-over-year, beating expectations. The other contributor was said to be from overseas markets, particularly Europe and the United States which have performed really well throughout the period. Sales from physical bookstores on the other hand, were said to have remained stable over the last fiscal year.
Throughout the fiscal year, via the “Monthly Comic Garden”, the unit has published twelve issues of the magazine, plus having published 116 new books among those mentioned were from Mahoutsukai no Yome, Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku and Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai series.
IG Port released the above volumes among others throughout FY2023 via its wholly-owned subsidiary Mag Garden. From left to right: Mahoutsukai no Yome Volume 18, Reincarnation no Kaben Volume 17, Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku Volume 9
As mentioned in the article for Q3 FY2023, Mahoutsukai no Yome Volume 18 was seen with its Regular Edition copies at 36,365 copies sold within the first three days of release between September 5 and September 11, 2022, on Oricon sales chart. The Limited Edition failed to chart for the week and is expected to have sold about 10,000 to 12,000 copies. That should put it at around 46,000 copies to 48,000 copies sold. The volume then went on to sell a further 37,352 copies the week after, climbing 2.71% to reach 73,717 copies sold for its Regular Edition alone. Volume 19 which was out of scope for Quarter 3 was featured on Oricon’s chart for the week between March 13 and March 19 at 34,494 copies sold in its first three days, down from Volume 18 by 5.15%. Like Volume 18, it had also made an appearance the week after on Oricon’s sales chart to sell 35,404 copies, bringing Volume 19’s total sales to 69,898 copies in ten days. Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku was seen with its 9th volume on Oricon’s list at 35,926 copies in five days between December 12 and December 18, 2022, whereas its 10th volume sold 23,079 copies between May 8 and May 14, 2023 in three days. As for Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai: Dahliya Wilts No More, Volume 5 made its debut at 19,196 copies in three days, the same week as Mahoutsukai no Yome Volume 18.
With all that said, Oricon does not count digital sales, and the breakdown for the Publishing Business reveals the mode as being the biggest contributor to sales for the segment. Sales for e-books alone had accounted for 62.3% of the total sales worth 1,809,028 thousand yen (≈13.05 million USD), or 6.60% more than the year before—yes, I am aware that this figure is lower than the 15% mentioned above, perhaps there are other earnings that have been included, bumping the change to 15% year-over-year. To compare, physical sales of Manga and books only stood at 24.9% of the total sales or 722,356 thousand yen (≈5.21 million USD), 5.51% lower year-over-year, which makes sales of the unit’s e-books alone more than double than that of physical sales. Others further contributed 372,071 thousand yen (≈2.68 million USD) or 12.8% of the total sales, 100.76% more than the prior fiscal year. The segment also incurred depreciation expenses worth 3,898 thousand yen (≈28.11 thousand USD), the lowest among its three core businesses.
Copyright Business
IG Port describes this segment as the engagement of copyrights via investment to form ownership from within a production committee of Anime works that the group has undertaken through its Video Production Business unit, plus any in-house production of original content.
Sales have decreased by 36.78% to 1,853,606 thousand yen (≈13.37 million USD) after breaking the 2,000,000 thousand yen (≈14.42 million USD) mark in FY2021 and FY2022 with the latter nearly hitting 3,000,000 thousand yen (≈21.64 million USD). While this is not the lowest the segment has seen, however, the result is nearly identical to FY2018 and FY2020. Despite the drop, profit managed to hold up, only decreasing by 19.24% year-over-year to 476,785 thousand yen (≈3.44 million USD), slightly lower than was seen in FY2021.
IG Port derived copyright sales from the following shows among others from left to right: Spy x Family, Shingeki no Kyojin and Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These
Much of the decrease in revenue was said to be attributed to some backlash from the 100% invested works on May 22, however, the business unit was able to maintain a steady amount of profit thanks to Spy x Family, among others, which was still a big hit even after the broadcasts had ended.
According to its breakdown, the segment’s largest contributor to sales, copyright fees for video content had suffered a significant drop of 53.30% to just 798,509 thousand yen (≈5.76 million USD) in sales for the fiscal year from 1,709,740 thousand yen (≈12.33 million USD) the year before. Sales from other earnings and others too have declined by 19.84% and 28.76% respectively, further impacting total revenue for the segment. Royalties earned, however, increased by 22.08% to close at a stronger 233,375 thousand yen (≈1.68 million USD). Note that copyright fees earned accounted for 43.1% of the total sales for the segment whereas other earnings were at a close 42.3%. Royalties earned and others were at 12.6% and 2.1% respectively. Depreciating expenses for the segment was the largest among the three main businesses at 778,343 thousand yen (≈5.61 million USD), but this is less by 52.92% than the year before.
Best Copyright Titles for FY2023
Well, it is without a doubt, having mentioned and promoted the title countless of times in their latest reports, Spy x Family was the biggest earner for the segment, sitting atop of the list at 241 million yen (≈1.74 million USD). Though the performance here is still quite far from how much IG Port received from Koukaku Kidoutai series in FY2020 and FY2022 which amounted to 384 million yen (≈2.77 million USD) and 449 million yen (≈3.24 million USD) respectively. Speaking of the Koukaku Kidoutai series, sales have slowed down to 167 million yen (≈1.20 million USD) for the latest fiscal year to see it behind the Shingeki no Kyojin series which recorded 223 million yen (≈1.61 million USD) in copyright sales, slightly down from the fiscal year before. Sharing the same spot with Koukaku Kidoutai was the Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These series, also at 167 million yen (≈1.20 million USD) and then the Haikyuu!! series at 130 million yen (≈ million USD) before conceding to the Mahoutsukai no Yome series at 111 million yen (≈800.66 thousand USD).
From left to right: Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045 Movie, Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season – Kanketsu-hen and Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Sakubou were all released througout FY2023
Note that for the above titles, Spy x Family should be mostly from Season 2 which aired from October 1 to December 24, 2022. The project was worked on by Wit Studio and CloverWorks. As for Koukaku Kidoutai, there were no new major releases for the fiscal year except for the SAC_2045 Movie, which serves as a compilation to SAC_2045 Season 2, therefore, the decline in copyright sales. As for Shingeki no Kyojin, two special episodes were aired, titled “Kanketsu-hen” which adapts Volumes 32 to 34 of the original Manga, produced by studio MAPPA. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These series saw the release of Sakubou, a 12-episode TV Anime series which is a direct sequel to Gekitotsu. Haikyuu!! saw no new Anime releases for the fiscal year, but it being here is impressive considering To the Top Part 2 was aired way back in October 3, 2020, and should have contributed greatly for FY2021 only. However, it maintained to be a major contributor to IG Port’s copyright sales. Haikyuu!! Final which is currently in the works, and being produced by Production I.G would certainly add more to its coffer once released.
※Please note that there is some discrepancies between the figures listed on the financial statements and the consolidated adjustment process.
※Also, for Spy x Family, the group has not received all of the licensing revenue yet as of the time the reports for FY2023 was published, therefore the fees will be reported for FY2024; the group also noticed other aspects of the work performing really well such as streaming, merchandising sales etc. and is expected steady licensing revenue from the brand. This should help the group generate medium to long-term cash flow.
The many merchandise and collaborations under the Spy x Family brand, presentation material page 14
Below the 100 million yen (≈721.32 thousand USD) mark, Ousama Ranking and Ao Ashi share the same spot at 74 million yen (≈533.77 thousand USD). Note that for Ousama Ranking this should be income received via the production of Yuuki no Takarabako, worked on by its subsidiary Wit Studio and began airing on April 14, 2023. Ao Ashi, on the other hand, was produced by Production I.G and aired from April 9 to September 24, 2022.
The Kuroko no Basket series, Bubble and the Tennis no Ouji-sama series all were at 56 million yen (≈403.94 thousand USD). As for Kuroko no Basket, no new Anime were aired throughout the fiscal year while Bubble was released on April 28, 2022, therefore, its earnings should have been stronger the prior fiscal year. As for Tennis no Ouji-sama, the U-17 World Cup, produced by studios M.S.C and Studio Kai, was aired from July 7 to September 29, 2022, with Production I.G sitting at the top of the production committee list. More about the shareholding will be discussed further once the documents are out. Totsukuni no Shoujo received one OVA slightly before FY2022 ended which was produced by Wit Studio and released on March 10, 2022. IG Port had gained 37 million yen (≈266.89 thousand USD) in copyright sales for the title in FY2023.
The Soukyuu no Fafner series, Kaizoku Oujo and the Psycho-Pass series were at 19 million yen (≈137.05 thousand USD). As for Soukyuu no Fafner, this should be for the Behind the Line film which was released on June 20, 2023, worked on by Production I.G. Kaizoku Oujo has dropped 95.77% from the high of 449 million yen (≈3.24 million USD) the year before, where it aired from October 3 to December 19, 2021. As for Psycho-Pass, this would be its earnings from the Providence film which was released on May 12, 2023.
Other Business
Finally, as for its Other Business where it earned sales from magazine illustrations, character product sales, smartphone applications etc., sales have suffered a setback of 10.96% to 299,667 thousand yen (≈2.16 million USD), lower than what was achieved from FY2015 to FY2018. That said, the segment managed to record a profit of 5,933 thousand yen (≈42.80 thousand USD), a much better outcome than the loss it had incurred the prior fiscal year.
Forecast and Group’s Situation
Despite the seemingly positive vibe the latest fiscal year has provided, IG Port does not foresee that FY2024 would outpace its performance in FY2023. Sales are predicted to fall to 10,638 million yen (≈76.73 million USD) with a net profit of 646 million yen (≈4.66 million USD). A rebound is expected to occur for FY2025 for both sales and profit with the latter, at 1,268 million yen (≈9.15 million USD), a very high expectation. If it does hit the target, it will be the largest profit the group would have ever made.
As for its return on equity or ROE, FY2023 has noted a major increase to 13.3% from just 0.1% in FY2022. The group intends to achieve an ROE of at least 8% year-over-year with the highest in FY2025. IG Port is also keen on giving a dividend payout ratio of 25% from FY2024 onwards. For FY2023, that number stood at 24.6%.
From left to right: Haikyuu!! Final, Kaijuu 8-gou and Spy x Family Season 2
The studios under its banner still have a number of projects to look forward to, and if all goes well, may contribute greatly to sales. Production I.G has been announced to work on Kaijuu 8-gou which is planned for broadcast in 2024. If it airs any time between June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, it may contribute significantly to sales for both Video Production and Copyright sales. This is so far perhaps the biggest title in the works for the group, and it may not just be a coincidence that the group is forecasting a major uptrend in sales for FY2025 which should fall between the aforementioned period. Even with the release of Spy x Family Season 2 and Spy x Family Movie: Code: White later this year (in 2023), they are forecasted to not be enough to drive up sales for FY2024. There is also Haikyuu!! Final with no release dates yet, and seeing how much the series has contributed via copyright sales for the group, this particular work may also see a release within FY2025. Over to Signal.MD, the studio will be working with Wit Studio to produce the sequel of Kizuna no Allele which is set to broadcast in Fall 2023, though, I predict that it may not contribute significantly to sales.
IG Port’s Group of Companies
Key Takeaways:
- Sales decrease due to depreciation expenses
- Profit at an all-time record high
- Video Production Business at highest sales, profit down by 78.36%
- Publishing Business at highest sales as well, profit up by 3.83%
- Copyright Business’ sales down by 36.78%, but profit remains strong
- Other Business’ sales down by 10.96%, profit up by more than 113.55%
- Spy × Family is the best performer in term of copyright sales
The FY2023 reports for IG Port were published on July 14, 2023 (Friday), sending stocks up 1.26% to close at 3,220 yen (≈23.23 USD) from 3,180 yen (≈22.94 USD) the day before.
IG Port, Inc. is incorporated in Japan with its head office in Musashino-shi. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticket symbol: 3791.
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Note: All currency conversion were done at the time of writing.
Update #1 (July 15, 2023): Reworded the note section for Spy x Family in the “Best Copyright Titles for FY2023”
Featured Image:
Spy x Family
Previous:
Q3 FY2023
Sources:
Presentation Material FY2023
Summary of Accounts FY2023
Google Charts:
Sales vs Net Profit
Video Production
Video Production (Pie)
Publishing Business
Publishing Business (Pie)
Copyright Business
Copyright Business (Pie)
Other Business
Copyright Titles (Rank)
Visualisation:
Copyright Titles FY2023
Copyright Titles Historical (Part 1)
Copyright Titles Historical (Part 2)
※For “Copyright Titles Historical (Part 2)”, IG Port has deducted figures from 100% owned works, therefore, the figures for FY2022 is different than the one posted last year. My visuals maintain the numbers as stated in their past presentation materials. Note that the presentation materials posted have not been updated to reflect the numbers posted for FY2023.
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