Sega Sammy slips into red on game trouble

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2007

TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese game company Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. said Friday it slipped into the red in its first quarter as its businesses aimed at children slipped.

The company -- born through a 2004 merger between video-game maker Sega and pinball machine company Sammy -- posted a net loss of 5.08 billion yen (42.87 million dollars) during the three months to June, reversing the year-earlier net profit of 779 million yen.

The company also went into the red on an operating level, posting a loss of 2.43 billion yen compared with an operating profit of 2.80 billion yen.

Revenue grew 11.4 percent year-on-year to 95.42 billion yen.

The company said it continued to enjoy strong sales in its key business of pachinko -- a pinball game played in thousands of...