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Toho's Anime Business Tops 12 Billion Yen in 2020 Amid Overall Sales Decline
posted on by Alex Mateo
Film distributor TOHO published on Tuesday its earnings report for the fiscal year ending February 2021.
The company announced consolidated earnings of 191.948 billion yen (about US$1.8 billion), a decrease of 27% from the previous year. Operating profit was 22.447 billion yen (about US$206 million), down 57.5% from last year. Ordinary profit was 24.195 billion yen (about US$222 million), a decrease of 56.1%, and net income was 14.688 billion yen (about US$135 million), a decrease of 59.9%.
However, the company reported that its anime production business earned 12.87 billion yen (about US$118 million) during that period, a 26% increase from the previous year.
Sales in the anime production business reached a record high, exceeding the 10.282 billion yen (about US$95.6 million at the time) from the fiscal year ending February 2018. The amount has more than quintupled since the 2.375 billion yen (about US$22 million by today's conversion) that TOHO made during the fiscal year ending in February 2015 when it first began to announce anime earnings independently. This amount does not include distribution revenue or box office revenue for anime movies.
The anime business was particularly strong among TOHO's video businesses. Following Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's success, the company reported that Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia are performing well.
TOHO reported that as a whole, its production and licensing business earnings were 30.114 billion yen (about US$277 million), a decrease of 8.5% over the previous year, and its operating profit was 4.973 billion yen (about US$46 million), a decrease of 25.1%. Overall sales fell due to the effects and spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
TOHO reported cinema business earnings of 116.197 billion yen (about US$1.1 billion), down 32.8% from last year, and an operating profit of 10.351 billion yen (about US$95 million), a decrease of 69.5% from the previous year. The Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train anime helped raise the company's box office revenue, but overall sales declined.
Sources: Toho, Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)
