Anycolor stock hits record low as Nijisanji EN remains a pain point

Investing.com-- Anycolor stock hit a record low on Friday, extending a recent decline as worsening revenue from the media house’s English language Virtual Youtuber (VTuber) division largely overshadowed an otherwise positive earnings report. 

Anycolor (TYO:5032) shares slid 22% to a record low of 2,440 yen- wiping out about 44 billion yen ($300 million) in a matter of hours. 

The drop came after the stock lost over 6% earlier this week, amid a growing controversy over the treatment of its talent after one of its “first generation” VTubers “Moira” said she was taking a year-long hiatus.

The firm’s biggest revenue earner is its Nijisanji studio, which is the second-largest VTuber agency behind Hololive, which is operated by Cover Corp. 

Anycolor’s December quarter earnings, released on late-Thursday, underscored a deepening revenue decline in Nijisanji’s english language division. This also impacted the firm’s bottom line, with its operating profit falling 20% year-on-year in the December quarter. 

Nijisanji EN sees steep revenue decline, hits Anycolor stock

Nijisanji EN’s revenue in the three months to December 31 slid 40% to 1.17 billion yen, hitting its lowest levels in two years. The drop came amid growing criticism of the studio over the treatment of its talent.

This criticism came to a boil in February 2024, after the firm abruptly fired its biggest English language VTuber, “Selen Tatsuki,” over alleged noncompliance. At the time of her exit, Tatsuki had nearly 750,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Tatsuki had accused the agency of bullying its talent, and also fostering a toxic working environment. Tatsuki’s exit came after a series of high-profile exits, or “graduations,” from Nijisanji EN through 2023. 

Anycolor’s VTubers are the company’s biggest sources of income. VTubers promote merchandise sales, host sponsored content, and also receive donations from subscribers.

While Nijisanji Japan still clocked strong revenue growth in the December quarter, weakness in the EN division presented growing headwinds for the company’s attempts to break into foreign markets- a space where its bigger rival Hololive has a much stronger foothold. 

The drop in English revenue also came before the firing of Tatsuki, whose exit is likely to be reflected in Anycolor’s March quarter earnings. 

Anycolor had scuttled its Indian, South Korean and Indonesian units over the past two years. 

Nijisanji Japan still going strong

But Anycolor’s overall quarterly revenue still marked strong growth, particularly on resilience in Nijisanji Japan, which is by far the firm’s biggest revenue generator. 

Overall revenue rose 4.7% in the December quarter to 7.79 billion yen, buoyed chiefly by a 22.4% spike in Japanese earnings.