Kadokawa Corporation published its consolidated financial report for the fiscal year which ended on March 2022, revealing that Re:Zero and Sword Art Online performed well in their respective categories.

The report that was published on May 12, 2022, noted that Kadokawa had hit record net sales of 221.2 billion yen, which is up 5.4 percent from the previous year’s numbers. The operating income also rose by a record high of 46.9 percent, reaching 14 billion yen this year.

Sword Art Online franchise came on top in the publishing segment of Kadokawa, followed by Kadokawa Manga Gakushu Series and Re:Zero in second and third positions. SAO was also the best title in terms of sales numbers in the previous quarterly reports published by Kadokawa.

Meanwhile, Re:Zero is the best title in the video business segment of Kadokawa, followed by KonoSuba at second position and Overlord coming in at number three. Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? had come in at number two in the previous quarterly reports. It however slipped to number 5, allowing Overlord and KonoSuba to overtake it.

The publishing segment recorded net sales of 132.9 billion yen, seeing a 2.55 percent increase from the sales recorded in previous year. The segment also reported an operating income of 17.3 billion yen.

This segment alone contributed to over 60 percent of the group’s overall net sales. Forecasts predict that the publishing segment will continue to grow in 2023 as well.

Kadokawa’s publishing business was boosted by YEN PRESS, LLC, a strategic subsidiary in North America, and also due to the growth of e-book market. The company owned online store BOOK WALKER GLOBAL store saw an increase in number of users, resulting in a sales boost domestically and overseas.

Kadokawa’s video and video game sections also continued to grow and recorded profits in fiscal year 2022. The video business segment recorded net sales of 33.1 billion yen and operating income of 1.3 billion yen. The video game section meanwhile recorded net sales of 19.4 billion yen and operating income of 5.2 billion yen.

The sales of Elden Ring, which released on Feb 25, 2022, contributed significantly to the growth of Kadokawa’s video game segment this year. The game has been a record-breaking hit as its cumulative shipments exceeded 13.4 million copies from its launch date to the end of March.

Kadokawa has reportedly set a medium-term plan to achieve net sales of 250 billion yen in the next year with operating income of 25 billion yen.

Source: PR Times, Erzat