Japan has the highest density of photo booth units per person of any country worldwide. This supply was in part driven by the launch of the Japanese government’s 'My Number ID' card programme. But to the dismay of photo booth operators who added capacity to the market, this programme was not made compulsory, and the momentum many operators had anticipated has not come through. One such operator is Photo-Me International (PHTM). The company now expects pre-tax profit to be £44m for the year to April 2019, below market expectations. That includes the cost of restructuring the Japanese business.
At the time of the first-half results in December, Asia and the rest-of-world division made up 18.5 per cent of group sales, of which Japan was the largest business in the category. At the time management had recognised a “lower contribution” from the My Number ID programme, and that future growth in the region would come from the laundry business there. At group level, that division has performed well – sales increased by almost half in 2018.
