News
Research Firm: Anime Studios' Revenues Down for 2nd Year (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
The financial research firm Teikoku Databank reports that overall revenues for Japanese animation production companies were down for a second year in a row in 2009. According to its report on Thursday, the firm surveyed 118 major companies to determine that revenues dropped from 171.6 billion yen (about US$2.0051 billion) in 2008 to 164.830 billion yen (US$1.926 billion) in 2009 — a drop of 3.9%.
Revenues of 118 Anime Production Companies
| Year | Revenues in billions of yen | Revenues in billions of US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 170.236 | 1.9892 | - |
| 2006 | 177.209 | 2.0707 | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 179.120 | 2.0930 | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 171.600 | 2.0051 | -4.2% |
| 2009 | 164.830 | 1.9260 | -3.9% |
2008-2009 Revenue Comparison
Teikoku Databank also surveyed 134 studios individually about their 2008 and 2009 revenues. 51 studios reported that revenues rose in 2008, whereas only 38 said the same in 2009.
| Year | Increase | Decrease | Largely Unchanged | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 51 | 56 | 27 | 134 |
| 2009 | 38 | 55 | 41 | 134 |
Revenue Comparison by Size of Companies (2009)
By percentage, more medium-sized and small companies reported a decrease in revenue compared to the larger companies.
| Size in yen | Increase | Decrease | Largely Unchanged | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over 10 billion | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 1 billion-10 billion | 9 | 11 | 3 | 23 |
| 100 million-1 billion | 25 | 30 | 30 | 85 |
| Less than 100 million | 7 | 12 | 8 | 27 |
| Total | 43 | 55 | 41 | 139 |
However, of the 21 companies that did work in the pachinko (Japanese-style upright pinball machine) industry, 11 — over half of them — reported an increase in revenues. Only five of these companies reported a decrease, and six reported that revenues remained largely unchanged.
Location of Anime Production Companies
92% of the companies were located in Tokyo, but there were studios in other areas of Japan.
| Location | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 160 | 92.0% |
| Saitama | 5 | 2.9% |
| Osaka | 2 | 1.1% |
| Toyama | 2 | 1.1% |
| Other | 5 | 2.9% |
| Total | 174 | 100.0% |
Size of Companies by Employees and Capital
42.0% of the anime production companies had less than 10 employees and less than 10 million yen (US$120,000) in capital.
| Employees | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 10 | 10-50 | 50-100 | Over 100 | Total | ||
| Capital in yen | Less than 10 million | 73 (42.0%) | 34 (19.5%) | 8 (4.6%) | 2 (1.1%) | 117 (67.2%) |
| 10 million-50 million | 13 (7.5%) | 13 (7.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 26 (14.9%) | |
| 50 million-100 million | 2 (1.1%) | 5 (2.9%) | 4 (2.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 11 (6.3%) | |
| Over 100 million | 2 (1.1%) | 3 (1.7%) | 9 (5.2%) | 6 (3.4%) | 20 (11.5%) | |
| Total | 90 (51.7%) | 55 (31.6%) | 21 (12.1%) | 8 (4.6%) | 174 (100.0%) | |
History
Established in October of 1946, TMS Entertainment has the longest history of all the surveyed companies. Toei Animation (January 1948) and Pierrot (March 1959) were second and third.
| History | Company | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Over 30 years | 37 | 21.3% |
| 20-30 | 31 | 17.8% |
| 10-20 | 55 | 31.6% |
| Less than 10 | 51 | 29.3% |
| Total | 174 | 100.0% |
Update: Teikoku Databank lists Pierrot's founding date in March of 1959, but Pierrot's own website lists the date as May of 1979. Thanks, Tratious.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history