Sega Sammy loses $42 million in Q1

Japanese games firm Sega Sammy Holdings has reported a 2.4 billion Yen ($42.8 million) loss for the three-month period ended June 30th.

In the same period a year before, the parent of Sega Europe posted an operating income of 2.8 billion Yen.

Net sales were up 11 per cent year-on-year, however, climbing from 85.62 billion Yen ($722 million) to 95.42 billion Yen ($803 million).

The company attributed much of the losses to research and development costs associated with its video games division.

It said in a statement:

‘With the continued push out of our global development initiatives R&D costs were above the comparable period’s levels, and with major titles slated for release in the second half, many costs were recognized in advance during the first quarter leading to an operating loss in the segment.’