I recall them saying that as a 'game', KanColle actually isn't profitable at all. But the franchise, however, is strong, and generates a lot of side-revenue from licensing and all that.
And the reality is that something like KanColle could easily topple down from its current popularity very easily. It's extremely popular for what it is, but it's also a non-casual niche. Something like KanColle will never come close to the mainstream popularity enjoyed by YW or even Layton.
If anything, Kadokawa needs to put a lot of investment into KanColle asap to make it a sustainable, long-term franchise.
lol I thought Kancolle gave them tons of money (big-picture wise, which includes licensing like you said), but I guess I was wrong. Kadokawa seems to know that themselves. If I'm not wrong, they released another line of moe collection which without doubt would failed. Their purchase of Fromsoft is an investment of that short money to have more reliable IP and source of income.