Atlus Reports Net Loss of 904 Million Yen for Fiscal Year, Physical Game Sales Strong

Allisa James June 29, 2019 3:31 PM EST

Atlus's latest financial report reveals a net loss of over 900 million yen. Despite this, Atlus states its overall business sales have been strong.

Atlus’s financial report came out recently and the company reported two surprising pieces of news: the first, that Atlus lost 904 million yen and the second, that their packaged games sales performance is strong.

The report states that Atlus experienced a 904.1 million yen loss (approximately $8.39 million USD). The past fiscal year ranged from April 1st, 2018 to March 31st, 2019. This fiscal year is the company’s sixth fiscal term under Sega ownership.

According to Atlus, the loss doesn’t indicate any deteriorating business, but instead it’s due to the amortization of business rights with the transfer of operations from Index Co., Ltd. in November 2013 to SEGA Dream Co., Ltd. (the current company). Despite these recorded losses, Atlus emphasizes that it has made a significant contribution in terms of earnings to the Sega Sammy Group’s consolidated financial results.

As an aside, the term amortization typically refers to the process of writing down the value of either a loan or an intangible asset.

Amortization schedules are used by lenders, such as financial institutions, to present a loan repayment schedule based on a specific maturity date. In other words, Atlus is stating that loan repayments are reflected in the reported losses but business is otherwise fine.

This can be seen in the packaged games side of business, which continues to do well. During the past fiscal year, Atlus released these IPs:

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

Etrian Odyssey Nexus

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

Catherine: Full Body

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim music and art clips (with 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Prologue)

According to the report, the sales performance was strong, and high praise was given due to the quality of the work. Particularly, in addition to Japan, Atlus exceeded its sales prospects in Europe, the US, and Asia.

One of their IPs, the recently revealed Persona 5 Royal has been getting plenty of attention as of late. Newcomer Kasumi Yoshizawa’s Persona Cendrillon has gotten some new official artwork. One of the new battle BGMs “Take Over” has also been released. And finally, Ryuji and Yusuke’s new Duo Move made its premiere, along the party members’ final Persona forms. PS4 exclusive Persona 5 Royal launches on October 31th in Japan and in 2020 in the west.