Growth in the 2014 fiscal year was attributed to increases in the following categories:
- direct market sales, up $252,000
- mass market sales, up $407,000
- “mass market sales of customized product offerings,” up $842,000
- digital sales, up $679,000
- games, with new sales of $422,000
Revenues continued to grow in the quarter ended January 31, with sales up 7.8% to over $7 million for the quarter, with increases of $544,000 in game sales for the quarter.
Sales have more than doubled since fiscal 2009, when both IDW and the holding company have been profitable. The holding company reported profits of $5,278,000 in its fiscal 2014, with about 73% of the operating profit coming from IDW.
The holding company reported a small profit of $77,000 in its quarter ended January 31, with IDW reporting an $897,000 operating profit, offset by losses in the CTM division.
The breakdown of growth segments provides some interesting information on IDW’s initiatives. The two mass market growth areas, which grew around $1.25 million over the previous year, probably relate to IDW’s big laydown of Skylanders products in multiple formats, including Fun Packs, a new format for the company (see "'Skylanders' Comic Gets 'High Six Figures' Launch").
IDW’s increase in digital sales of $679,000, despite the disruption to the market caused by the elimination of iOS in-app purchases by comiXology around the time of its acquisition by Amazon (see "Amazon Acquiring ComiXology") is an impressive accomplishment.
And IDW’s new games division, which apparently contributed nearly $1 million in sales since its launch last May (see "IDW Games Launches with 'Kill Shakespeare'"), is off to a solid start.
IDW is in the process of registering its stock so it can be listed on an exchange (see "Corporate Reorganization to Lead IDW to Exchange Listing").