Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp surged back to profit in the three months to 31 March 2022, with the company reporting net income of JPY8.36 billion (US$64.7 million) – reversing a loss of JPY5.21 billion (US$40.3 million) in the same period last year.
The improvement was primarily achieved through Universal’s pachinko and pachislot machine segment, which saw net sales more than triple year-on-year to JPY16.24 billion (US$125.7 million). Adjusted Segment EBITDA of JPY5.29 billion (US$40.9 million) reversed a loss of JPY1.23 billion (US$9.5 million) in 1Q21, with the company pointing to the release of “many new titles” in both the December 2021 and March 2022 quarter. As a result, unit sales increased from 12,708 in the same period last year to 37,739.
Okada Manila also showed strong signs of recovery, despite booking an operating loss of JPY498 million (US$3.9 million). Net sales of JPY11.29 billion (US$87.4 million) was 26.2% higher year-on-year while Adjusted Segment EBITDA of JPY2.43 billion (US$18.8 million) was up 68.8%.
The company noted that “sales increased as the utilization rate of the casino and hotel moved up along with the larger number of guests” since COVID-19 capacity restrictions were eased from 1 March 2022.
Universal has previously reported a loss of JPY19.22 billion (US$166 million) in FY21, largely flat with its 2020 performance.
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