Bushiroad Summary of Financial Results for the Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
Bushiroad's net sales fell 6.5% to 32.8 billion yen in the first three quarters of fiscal 2024, while operating profit plunged 96.5% to 70 million yen.See it on page 1
02
The company posted a net loss of 25 million yen, driven mainly by underperformance in the Digital Contents unit and costs from terminating several mobile game titles.See it on page 6
03
Bushiroad revised its full-year earnings forecast downward, now projecting a 79.3% decline in annual operating profit amid intensified market competition.See it on page 4
04
Sales of the Shadowverse EVOLVE trading card game have softened, and the mobile gaming segment continues to struggle.See it on page 4
05
Management is prioritizing market penetration of the new DREAM ORDER trading card game to drive a gradual recovery across the Digital Contents and Entertainment units.See it on page 6
06
In April 2024 Bushiroad acquired a 75% stake in Gorin Technical Industry and its subsidiary World Card Products for about 933.9 million yen to secure manufacturing capacity and supply chain stability for its global trading card game business.See it on page 16

Summary

Bushiroad's results for the first three quarters of fiscal 2024 (July 2023 to March 2024) show a company whose core trading card business held steady while its mobile game operations and restructuring pushed profits sharply lower. Net sales fell 6.5% to ¥32.86 billion, operating profit collapsed 96.5% to ¥71 million, and the company posted a net loss of ¥25 million, compared with a ¥1.24 billion profit a year earlier.

The decline traces to the Entertainment Business, which swung to a ¥307 million segment loss from a ¥1.88 billion profit. Weak mobile game performance, game terminations including Symphogear XD and Love Live! SIFAS2 MIRACLE LIVE!, restructuring costs, and soft Shadowverse EVOLVE sales all contributed. Weiß Schwarz and Cardfight!! Vanguard remained stable, and the Sports Business was a bright spot, with profit up 140.7% to ¥377.6 million. Total assets rose to ¥47.66 billion while net assets slipped to ¥22.01 billion, for an equity ratio of 44.1%. Treasury share buybacks totaled ¥569 million.

Management lowered its full-year outlook to net sales of ¥45.0 billion, down 7.8%, with operating profit and net profit both sharply reduced, and held the dividend at ¥4.50. The revised sales and operating profit figures sit roughly ¥6 billion and ¥1.3 billion below the initial forecast. Recovery hopes rest on the new baseball trading card game DREAM ORDER, which is selling on target, along with narrowing mobile losses and a stronger Sports Unit.

Bushiroad also moved to strengthen its global trading card supply chain. Following a February 27, 2024 board resolution, it completed the cash purchase of a 75% stake in Gorin Technical Industry (Malaysia) on April 3, 2024, bringing that company and its Singapore subsidiary World Card Products into the consolidated group. The provisional acquisition cost is ¥933.9 million, and goodwill remains to be finalized. The deal aims to secure stable English-language card production and support international expansion.