CyberAgent’s streaming platform from Japan, Abema TV, has turned a profit for the first time, contributing to a 79% rise in the parent company’s operating profit to ¥71.7 billion ($493 million) for the fiscal year ending in September. CyberAgent reported its 28th consecutive year of sales growth, with annual sales increasing 9.1% to ¥874 billion ($6 billion).
Media division turnaround
The Media and IP division, which includes Abema TV, was credited with helping double CyberAgent‘s net income. The division posted an operating profit of ¥7.2 billion ($47 million), a significant turnaround from the ¥1.4 billion loss reported in the previous year. Sales for the division grew 15.7% year-on-year to ¥231.5 billion.
The company stated that ‘Sales growth resulted in a significant OP increase while actively investing in content’. They reported strong viewership in anime and sports, including the FIFA World Cup. Dating reality and variety shows were the most popular original programs, with weekly active users for originals doubling year-on-year to a record high. Abema also expanded its content offering through external partnerships with DAZN and WOWSPO.
Strategic outlook and games volatility
CyberAgent continues to build its IP business, launching its third animation studio, Studio Kurm, in 2025. The company is building a system ‘that can handle an entire process from original work to monetisation and actively leverage group synergies’.
While the media division was key to the turnaround, the bulk of the group’s profit came from the games division, which reported a 96.5% YoY operating profit increase to ¥60 billion.
Despite the strong results, CyberAgent moderated expectations for the upcoming year, cutting operating profit forecasts to between ¥50 billion and ¥60 billion. The company cited the ‘high degree of volatility in performance’ of the Games business as the reason for the cautious outlook.
