CyberAgent Inc
TSE:4751
Earnings Call Analysis
Q1-2024 Analysis
CyberAgent Inc
CyberAgent's Fiscal Year 2024 kicked off with an unexpectedly robust opening quarter, surpassing initial expectations. A notable contribution to this success was the 'UMA MUSUME' title, a grand hit two years prior, which provided a solid foundation for the company's Q1 revenues. This strong start is a deviation from the norm, as the company tends to see a weaker performance in the first quarter of its fiscal year.
Reporting an all-round growth in sales and operating profit, the Media Business and Advertising Business have been remarkably strong. However, the Games segment presents a dichotomy, with a spike in revenue attributed to the success of 'Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade,' contrasted by a decline in operating profit. The latter is explained by comparing it with the previously launched 'UMA MUSUME,' an in-house IP with considerably higher margins than third-party titles.
CyberAgent demonstrated an upturn in quarterly sales, defying the usual Q1 slump. Meanwhile, operating profit, though impacted by stellar performances of 'UMA MUSUME' in the last two to two and a half years, has shown promise with a notable achievement of JPY 6.2 billion. The company views this as a testament to its underlying organic growth.
The company has maintained stable selling, general, and administrative expenses while witnessing steady growth in employee numbers. Despite posting a negative final profit, attributed primarily to valuation losses from Real Gate, management remains unconcerned, showing long-term confidence in the invested company.
Encouraged by the initial progress, CyberAgent expects FY2024 to be favorably robust, especially considering the Advertising Business. With the fiscal year end in March for most clients, the second quarter is anticipated to perform strongly due to the alignment with many companies' financial closures, poised to complement the upbeat first quarter.
The Internet app business has outperformed despite traditionally being stronger in Q2. The company also reports a recovery in operating profit, which they had committed to two quarters ago. Additionally, by forming partnerships, such as the newly announced one with Mizuho Bank and others with major enterprises, CyberAgent aims to bolster its advertising segment and forge new business avenues.
Supported by new successful titles 'Jujutsu Kaisen' and 'FINAL FANTASY,' the Game business's top line has surged. Nevertheless, the operating profit has seen a 32.9% year-on-year decrease, still feeling the after-effects of the high-margin 'UMA MUSUME.' Anticipation is also building for 'Granblue Fantasy: Relink' set to release globally, hinting at the company's intentions for global market expansion.
Similar to other segments, the Media Business exhibits sales and operating profit growth, with notable strides following a cleanup of past investments. Success stories like the World Cup broadcast have fortified ABEMA's business segment, contributing to sustained user growth and better monetization post-event.
CyberAgent reaffirms its mid- to long-term commitment to raising sales and profits for sustained growth. The company has laid out steps towards this goal, striving to ensure high share prices and market confidence by fostering a robust business model that addresses both current and future market conditions.
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We would like to begin CyberAgent's FY 2024 Ending September First Quarter Earnings Briefing. This briefing session is being streamed. Please refer to the disclaimer you can find within the briefings document with regards to the content we will be sharing today. President Fujita will be taking us through the earnings. Thank you.
So I will take you through the FY '24 Q1 financial summary. So this fiscal year will end in September. So this is the first quarter financial announcement.
So first quarter, we have -- we're off to a good start, more so than we had expected. UMA MUSUME became a good fit, a great hit 2 years ago. And usually, our business, the first quarter tends to be weaker than the rest. Having said that, we have marked a good start this fiscal year. And right now, the entire company is focusing on increasing sales and profits.
Media Business, first of all, we have increased both sales and operating profit. And with respect to the Advertising Business, we have been growing strongly as well, increasing both sales and operating profit. With respect to Games, top line has increased. However, this is due to Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade became a big hit, but UMA MUSUME was our own IP, so it had higher margins. And this had -- in comparison to that, the overall OP has decreased.
This is the sales -- quarterly sales. And as I mentioned before, first quarter tends to be weaker. But as you can see, we have increased our sales for this quarter. We're off to a good start. And this is the operating profit for this quarter. Over the last 2, 2.5 years, UMA MUSUME had a significant impact. But if you look at our organic growth, compared to our organic growth, doing JPY 6.2 billion in the first quarter is a good sign. We have performed well.
And this is the SG&A. It is trending stably. And in terms of the number of employees, this has also progressed stably. This is the PL. See, the final income or profit has become negative, but this is due to Real Gate. Actually, we have temporary losses for that, valuation losses. So Real Gate is a very serious and good company. So I don't -- even though we have incurred a valuation loss, we don't foresee that as a huge issue. This is a base balance sheet, as you can see.
Next, we would like to go through the FY 2024 forecast. So from 2 quarters ago, we have committed to increasing sales and profits. And this is -- since then, as you can see, we have progressed. We are -- we have had a strong start for this fiscal year. The first quarter, I mentioned, usually tends to be weak, and this is because the Advertising Business. So this includes the second quarter, which includes March, which is the end of the fiscal year for many companies, and that's a very important quarter.
And so second quarter also tends to be strong as well because it does have a lot of games anniversaries as well. But taking that into account, we have started at a good pace for the first quarter.
Next, moving on to the individual businesses. First, starting with Internet app business. As I mentioned before, the financial year closes in March usually for many clients. So second quarter tends to be the strongest quarter every year, but we have performed well for this quarter despite that.
And the operating profit as well, we have committed to recovering the OP from 2 quarters ago. And as you can see, we are improving, enhancing our operating profit. With respect to the Internet app business, we offer a DX business. And last week, we announced our partnership with Mizuho Bank. And the DX business that we have with ANA Mizuho Bank, as well as other large enterprises, we are increasing more partnerships. So we will partner in terms of the advertising business, and we want to actually establish new businesses with these partners.
Moving on to the Game business. As you can see, the top line has steadily increased. Jujutsu Kaisen, FINAL FANTASY, which are new titles, and these became a hit, so this has contributed to strong sales. However, OP came down by 32.9% year-on-year. One year ago, UMA MUSUME contributed significantly to the OP. And this was our own IP, so most of it was gross profit. So we're seeing impact from that. And Jujutsu Kaisen that we released in November is off to a very good start. It's been 3 months already. But it is -- it's a smash. It continues to be a popular game.
In terms of our future plans, February 1, tomorrow, Granblue Fantasy: Relink will go on sale. And this, we put a lot of effort into this scheme, and we will start selling to global markets, all markets around the world. So I have high expectations for this title, which will be released tomorrow.
Moving on to the Media Business. Media Business, too, has seen an increase in sales in OP as well. OP, we've seen -- we made up our investments, so we're seeing large losses. However, we have started to clean up. And ABEMA-related businesses have continued to grow as well. Especially after the World Cup broadcast, we have continued to maintain a strong trend and monetization is going well.
Regarding the weekly active user. So in December, 2 years ago, World Cup had a significant impact. And ABEMA's recognition and also the usage, as well as the desire to be on our platform, the World Cup had positive impacts on those aspects as well. So it has improved the overall numbers and the investments has borne fruit.
Lastly, this is a midterm -- mid- to long-term strategy, as I shared at the earnings briefing each quarter, but we have started to take a step towards, an important step towards increasing sales and profits, and we will make sure that we remain committed and achieve this goal to make sure that we continue to be a good company with high share prices.
That's it for myself. Thank you very much.
This concludes CyberAgent's FY 2024 ending in September first quarter earnings briefing. Should you have any questions, please reach out to your IR contact. Thank you for watching today.
[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]