Sales / Profit and loss

Net sales stood at ¥26,082 million (down 3.8% year on year) as a result of a fall in the total number of paying subscribers from the same period in the previous year to 4.59 million (down 0.20 million from September 30, 2019), including the number of paying subscribers to smartphones of 3.76 million (down 0.16 million from September 30, 2019), as of September 30, 2020, despite the effect of receiving the transfer of businesses such as the musico music streaming website and sales growth in the distribution of original comics.

Operating income came to ¥2,507 million (down 15.3% year on year) chiefly due to the decrease in gross profit, which more than offset the effect of receiving the transfer of businesses such as the musico music streaming website, and substantial reduction of advertising expenses from the same period of the previous fiscal year in particular thanks to the sluggish subscription by smartphone-based paying subscribers.

Ordinary income decreased significantly by 33.5% year on year, to ¥2,082 million, reflecting a fall in operating income and ¥431 million as a share of loss of entities accounted for using the equity method (as a result primarily of one-time amortization of goodwill due to impairment of Authlete, Inc., an equity-method affiliate), compared to ¥112 million as a share of profit of entities accounted for using the equity method in the previous fiscal year.

Profit attributable to owners of parent decreased sharply by 66.4% year on year, to ¥506 million, chiefly due to a fall in ordinary income and an extraordinary loss of ¥1,678 million largely owing to an impairment loss, despite the posting of an extraordinary income of ¥809 million mainly resulting from gain on sales of investment securities and gain on step acquisitions of Crowd Cast, Ltd. as a consolidated subsidiary.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consolidated financial results for the period under review was negligible.