Social mobile gaming company Gree reported a 4 percent drop in net profit for its 2013 financial first quarter to JPY9.1 billion (US$112 million). This was despite net sales increasing by nearly 25 percent to JPY37.9 billion.

Profit was hit by sales, general and administration costs rising by 50 percent to JPY17.4 billion as personnel, marketing and paid commissions added up.

Advertising sales were up 14 percent compared to the same period during fiscal 2012, at JPY3.3 billion for the quarter. However, advertising was down on the previous quarter as smartphone advertising failed to offset declining feature phone ad revenue.

The reporting period saw the release of new in-house titles, various licensing and merchandising deals and partnerships with South Korean developer NCSoft and French mobile affiliate network MobPartner.

The company’s ambitions for the 2013 financial year include expanding user reach in Japan, accelerating development of games for North America and Europe, and topping gross sales in Apple’s App Store.