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Konami revs hit $3.22 billion, profits fall 40%

Japanese publisher pulls in record annual revenues on Metal Gear Solid 4's strength--but net income drops to $113.3 million.

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Konami has a big announcement lined up for Monday, one that may or may not be an Xbox 360 edition of Metal Gear Solid 4. However, what's certain is that the big reveal won't be in the publisher's fiscal year-end results, which were announced today.

Wait, we lost money on record revenue?
Wait, we lost money on record revenue?

Konami said today that revenues hit record levels during the April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009 period, thanks largely to the PlayStation 3 launch of MGS4 in June 2008 and its Pro Evolution Soccer franchise. During the 12 months, Konami pulled in ¥309.7 billion ($3.22 billion), a 4.2 percent year-over-year increase. Broken out by segment, Konami's digital entertainment arm--which includes console, handheld, arcade, and card game businesses--led revenue gains, growing 4.9 percent to ¥187.6 billion ($1.95 billion).

Despite those company-best revenues, the publisher saw a significant drop-off in net income, which fell 40.7 percent to ¥10.8 billion ($113.3 million). Konami did not directly address the cause of the large falloff in profit, saying only that the Japanese economy had entered a recession, the strong yen hurt overseas income, and consumer spending declined during the year.

During the period, Konami continued to see strong performance from its Metal Gear series. According to the publisher, the franchise--including the top-rated MGS4--sold 4.75 million units worldwide. Though Konami did not break out specific sales figures for MGS4, the publisher did say that its online component--Metal Gear Online--had accrued 1.3 million accounts worldwide since launch.

Projecting results for its current fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, Konami said revenue growth should be flat, rising an insignificant 0.1 percent to ¥310 billion ($3.23 billion). However, the publisher expects to see a significant rebound in profit, which it forecasts to grow 47.1 percent to ¥16 billion ($166.7 million).

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