Konami raises gaming and systems profit 154% in first half
Deals & M&A2 min read
Konami reported gaming and systems business profit of about JPY2.41bn for the six months ended 30 September, up around 154% year on year. Segment revenue rose 41.3% to about JPY25.11bn, with the company attributing higher machine sales to demand for its Solstice 49C cabinet. Konami kept its full-year segment forecasts unchanged.
Konami Group's gaming and systems segment reported business profit of about JPY2.41bn for the six months ended 30 September, against JPY949m a year earlier, an increase of around 154%, the company said in its consolidated first-half results. Segment revenue rose 41.3% to about JPY25.11bn, and the segment margin reached about 10%, double the 5% posted a year earlier.
Konami attributed the rise in unit sales to the Solstice 49C cabinet, which has a curved 49-inch ultra high definition screen. The Bomberman slot series remained the company's best seller in North America, while Dragon Rush and Bull Rush Stampede performed well with Australian venues. Konami described both regions as stable, citing new casino openings and the replacement cycle at existing properties as room to place more machines.
The lineup is also being extended. A model pairing a pair of 27-inch screens, the Solstice 27, sits alongside the bigger Solstice SuperNova, which carries a 75-inch C-curve screen. Both were exhibited at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas earlier this month, and the fourth quarter of 2026 is the planned launch window.
Turning to systems, the SYNKROS casino management platform is now connected to over 150,000 slot machines around the world, according to the company. Land-based casinos and Carnival Corporation's cruise fleet have both broadened their use of it, after the fleetwide SYNKROS deployment with Carnival that was announced in June.
For the gaming and systems division, guidance for the year to 31 March 2027 was kept where it was: JPY46 billion in revenue and JPY6.5 billion in business profit. To land that profit figure, business profit in the October to March half would need to come in at roughly JPY4.1 billion, comfortably ahead of the first-half result.
At group level, first-half revenue grew 37.0% to almost JPY308bn, while net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent rose 70.5% to about JPY79.2bn. Konami now expects annual revenue of JPY583bn, up from a previous JPY505bn, and net profit of JPY135bn instead of JPY101bn, citing better than expected trading in digital entertainment.
An interim payout of JPY112 per share is due on 19 November. The forecast for the full-year dividend has also been raised, to JPY299 from JPY224.
Gaming still accounts for only a modest slice of the wider group, though its domestic market is beginning to take shape. Konami Gaming reported in July that it was the first equipment manufacturer to file licence applications with Japan's Casino Regulatory Commission, and MGM Osaka is due to open in 2030.
“Competitors are continuously introducing new products, creating an environment that requires stronger product appeal”