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TOKYO, JAPAN - February 7, 2013 - DeNA Co., Ltd. (2432.T), the global leader in mobile Internet services, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012. DeNA reported record-high quarterly revenue of 52.3 billion yen (approximately $567 million*), 52 percent higher than the same quarter last year, and operating profit of 19.9 billion yen ($216 million), 54 percent higher than the same quarter of the previous year. Both total revenue and operating profit for the quarter exceeded the guidance provided by management last quarter.
"We're encouraged by the continuous growth of the Mobage platform, both in Japan and overseas, which has contributed to our record-high revenue," said Isao Moriyasu, CEO of DeNA. "DeNA is building strong ecosystems with a balanced portfolio of social games worldwide. Mobage West is now seeing multiple titles ranking high on the top-grossing charts."
In Japan, during the reported quarter, DeNA achieved record-high consumption of Moba-coin, the virtual currency used on the Mobage social game platform. In December alone, the total consumption reached 20 billion yen worth of Moba-coins, the highest ever in a single month. Quarter-on-quarter increase in Moba-coin consumption was 3.6 billion yen. Notably, both new and existing browser-based titles made a growing contribution to Moba-coin consumption.
DeNA's overseas business observed significant quarter-on-quarter growth, with Moba-coin consumption approaching $50 million. In December, three Mobage titles - Blood Brothers (first-party), MARVEL: War of Heroes (second-party) and Rage of Bahamut (third-party) - dominated the top three spots on U.S. Google Play's top-grossing chart. Blood Brothers earned the No. 1 ranking on Google Play's top-grossing chart in 33 countries and regions.
DeNA focused on bolstering alliances, during the reported quarter, and formed a capital and business alliance with Rage of Bahamut developer Cygames. DeNA also expanded its Mobage customer base, launching Mobage for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and partnering with Taiwan's Yahoo!Kimo. In Japan, DeNA strengthened its ties with industry leaders Yahoo! JAPAN, to expand the range of the collaboration from PCs to smartphones, and mixi, to share the same game development platform for Mobage and mixi's smartphone game distribution service.
While the profit exceeded management's guidance, the operating profit was down 3 percent quarter-on-quarter. During the reported quarter, DeNA made a significant investment in marketing its voice and chat smartphone app Comm, which launched in late October and boasted more than five million downloads by the end of December. Another contributor to the quarter on quarter decline in the operating profit was the normal seasonal fluctuation in business for DeNA's Yokohoma Bay Stars baseball team.
In January 2013, DeNA entered into multi-title relationships with Nexon and its subsidiary gloops to enhance its games line-up worldwide. During the month, the company also announced its new corporate branding which reflects a unified global identity.
With the expectation of another successful fiscal year, and with the aim of improving shareholder returns, DeNA is projecting a year-end dividend payment of 50 yen per share compared with a 36 yen per share dividend last year, representing a 38.9 percent increase.
* Dollar values reported were translated at 92.29 Japanese yen per U.S. dollar, which was the Telegraphic Transfer Middle Rate (TTM) per the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ as of February 5, 2013.