Article
Blame It On The Rain
by Darren Pierce : Radar, Radar! : 11.01.04 6:21am EST
Thumbnails
Bandai reports 20% lower sales and 36% lower profits than expected this term. Analysts don't seem too worried, as the giant is still more profitable overall than most of its competition. Forecasts for next quarter were slightly lowered as a result.
Increased character licensing costs are blamed in part for some financial woes. New Gundam Seed and Ultraman Nexus characters, as well as some long-term manufacturing asset depreciation finally moving off the books is expected to help the bottom line moving forward.
North American business ran at a loss. Bandai pres. Takasu blamed Spider-man 2 for knocking off Power Rangers sales, and bad ratings for the Astro Boy televised series for squashing Astro sales. European Power Ranger and Strawberry Shortcake sales are "strong".
Increased character licensing costs are blamed in part for some financial woes. New Gundam Seed and Ultraman Nexus characters, as well as some long-term manufacturing asset depreciation finally moving off the books is expected to help the bottom line moving forward.
North American business ran at a loss. Bandai pres. Takasu blamed Spider-man 2 for knocking off Power Rangers sales, and bad ratings for the Astro Boy televised series for squashing Astro sales. European Power Ranger and Strawberry Shortcake sales are "strong".