Japanese supplier Sankyo has reported first-quarter net sales of ¥33.6bn ($211.9m), down 39.2% year-on-year, as lower pachinko and pachislot machine volumes weighed on its results for the three months ended June 30.
Operating profit fell 56.0% to ¥10.5bn, while quarterly profit attributable to owners of the parent declined 53.7% to ¥8.1bn. Sankyo does not disclose an EBITDA figure in its Q1 Japanese GAAP financial statement or accompanying quarterly materials.
The contraction follows a particularly strong comparative quarter, when sales reached ¥55.2bn and attributable profit totaled ¥17.4bn.
Pachinko remained Sankyo's largest segment, generating ¥22.1bn in sales, a 39.5% decrease.
Unit sales fell from 79,000 to 50,000. Pachislot revenue declined 45.0% to ¥8.2bn as volumes dropped from 35,000 units to 16,000.
The results reflect a growing divide across Japan's machine market. Sankyo said pachislot utilization remains solid, while weaker pachinko utilization has made parlor operators increasingly cautious when deciding which machines to purchase.
That assessment is consistent with Sega Sammy's current market outlook. The rival supplier expects industry pachislot unit sales to exceed pachinko sales during FY27 for the first time, with parlors directing more investment toward pachislot while pachinko utilization remains soft.
Sankyo has responded by introducing its Sankyo Yell Price policy for selected pachinko machines. The program reduces the planned main unit price to ¥499,000 in an effort to lower installation costs for parlors.
The pricing change also carries a margin cost. In May, Sankyo cut its internal FY27 expectations substantially below the targets contained in its mid-term management plan, citing market conditions, the new pachinko pricing structure and a changing product mix.
Its current forecast calls for ¥174bn in annual sales and ¥56bn in operating profit, compared with original plan targets of ¥220bn and ¥88bn respectively.
Despite the Q1 declines, Sankyo left its FY27 forecast unchanged. It expects attributable profit of ¥40bn for the year.
The supplier has also continued refreshing its machine pipeline, including July's e-Fever Yo-kai Watch launch following new pachinko and pachislot releases during the first quarter.
Sega Sammy reported a different performance pattern in FY26, with sales from its pachislot and pachinko business rising 36% to ¥132bn and pachislot volumes increasing, while pachinko machine sales declined 2%.
Sankyo expects to sell 225,500 pachinko machines and 127,000 pachislot machines during FY27, below the volumes originally assumed in its mid-term plan
