Kadokawa Corporation recently unveiled its Top 10 publishing and video titles through its third quarterly report for the fiscal year 2022 (from April 1 to December 31, 2021) with some very interesting titles making onto its lists. Sales and profit continue to climb for its Publishing Business reaching 97,706 million yen (≈833.04 million USD) in sales while operating profit soared to 13,127 million yen (≈111.92 million USD). Its Video Business on the other hand, noted a 10.2% increase in sales from the fiscal year before to 24,738 million yen (≈210.92 million USD), and operating profit went up 39.6% to 1,398 million yen (≈11.92 million USD) from the same quarter the prior year. As a result, the company had a strong performance with total sales for all its businesses combined at 157,641 million yen (≈1,338.16 million USD) with profit for the period at 10,194 million yen (≈86.53 million USD).
As for its Publishing Business, the company has been enjoying strong growth for its Overseas Business mainly driven by sales from its subsidiary in North America, Yen Press (of which it owns 51%), and the rise of both local and overseas copyright sales. Digital sales of its publication have also been noted to be on the rise with sales from the overseas market continuing to show growth at a high rate. The Top 10 titles are led by Sword Art Online with its educational Manga series coming in 2nd. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu is 3rd on the list. The Top 10 publishing titles alone account for 9% of the sales made (page 13 of the presentation material) which amount to 8,793.54 million yen (≈74.97 million USD) in sales. Note that this includes both domestic and international sales.
Publication Top 10
(April 1 to December 31, 2021)
| 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 | Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! | 2013 |
| 8 | Youjo Senki | 2013 |
| 8 | Love Live! | 2012 |
| 10 | Fate | 2004 |
| Total (¥) | 8,793,540,000 |
Also note that, the company reported the quarterly performances of its Video and Video Game businesses together for the fiscal years 2017 to 2020, and for the sake of consistency, I have decided to do the same for the remaining fiscal years (totaling up the numbers for both segments for the fiscal years 2016, 2021 and 2022). The drag in operating profit for Video and Video Game businesses are due to the latter and is caused by the slow down of demand, plus the pandemic has forced the company to review some of its schedules, pushing back works to later dates. One thing to note though, Elden Ring, which is produced by one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, FromSoftware, was released on February 25, 2022. Hence, we can expect a major rebound in sales and profit when the fiscal year ends.
Its Video Business is doing great with revenue from the distribution of licensing rights having increased 11% from the same quarter last year with great sales noted for its Studio Business amid large-scale projects. However, its operating profit for its Video Business (for both Anime and Live-action titles) witnessed a decrease due to depreciation costs, and a couple of other reasons it added were caused by changes in broadcasting schedule, the tightening of China’s regulation on media plus increasing in production costs. Nonetheless, it noted that its Studio Business managed to see increasing profit for the fiscal year. Its Top 10 video titles are spearheaded by Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu, followed by Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! while Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? settles for 3rd. The Top 10 titles here make up 29% of the total sales for the quarter worth up to 7,174.02 million yen (≈61.17 million USD), which includes both domestic and international sales.
Video Top 10
(April 1 to December 31, 2021)
| Rank | Title | Brod. Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu | 2016 |
| 2 | Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! | 2016 |
| 3 | Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? | 2021 |
| 4 | Overlord | 2015 |
| 5 | Bungou Stray Dogs | 2016 |
| 6 | Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu | 2021 |
| 7 | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | 2006 |
| 8 | Fate | 2006 |
| 8 | Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru. | 2021 |
| 10 | Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! | 2021 |
| Total (¥) | 7,174,020,000 |
Another thing to note would be that sales here take into account only sales that occurred during the period, thus do not be confused with the earlier publication and broadcasting years noted by Kadokawa Corporation in its presentation materials. In addition, Kodokawa did not divulge on the breakdown of each title’s financial performance. Hopefully, we will get to see at least some in their next report (though very unlikely).
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.
Sources:
Presentation Materials for the 3rd Quarter FY2022
Securities Report for 3rd Quarter FY2022
Google Charts
Kadokawa Corporation’s Sales and Profit or Loss (Q3 FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Publishing Business Sales and Operating Profit or Loss (Q3 FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Publishing Business in Yen (Q3 FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Video and Video Game Sales and Operating Profit or Loss (Q3 FY2022)
Kadokawa Corporation’s Video Business in Yen (Q3 FY2022)
Visualisation:
Kadokawa Corporation 3rd Quarter Performance
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