Tokyo (AFP) – Sony’s net profit jumped in the second quarter thanks to stronger sales in gaming, music, and imaging sensors, the PlayStation maker said Friday as it left its annual profit forecasts unchanged. The yen’s weakness against the dollar and euro had a positive impact on takings in those key sectors, the Japanese conglomerate said.
However, Sony Pictures suffered from “lower series deliveries” for television, “in part due to production delays related to the strikes in Hollywood.” Sony’s earnings release comes a day after its PlayStation 5 Pro console hit shelves, with a price tag that has raised eyebrows among gamers. In Europe, the device costs an eye-watering 799.99 euros ($860) — 250 euros higher than the older version — and almost 120,000 yen ($780) in Sony’s home market of Japan.
Sony president Hiroki Totoki told reporters that while “various people have made various comments” about the price, it has not had a negative impact on sales. For July-September, Sony logged a net profit of 338.5 billion yen ($2.2 billion), up 69 percent from 200.1 billion yen in the same period a year ago. It still forecasts a full-year net profit of 980 billion yen. The company also maintained its operating profit outlook but revised its sales forecast upwards slightly.
The company said Friday that an increase in sales for imaging sensors — used in phone cameras — as well as the “positive impact of foreign exchange rates” contributed to growth in the operating profit for that segment. The yen hit a four-decade low against the dollar in July, having plunged in value since early 2022. Reforms to Sony’s gaming business, including in cost reduction and sales marketing, “brought a relatively good result for this period,” Totoki said on Friday.
Music streaming is also a money-spinner for Sony, which has an impressive back catalogue and whose current roster includes top artists such as Beyoncé and Lil Nas X. According to recent reports in Variety and the Financial Times, citing sources, British rockers Pink Floyd have agreed to sell their recorded music and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for around $400 million. Acquiring back catalogues “shows our commitment to artists” and “is expected to have a positive impact on our music business,” Totoki said without giving details.
When asked about Donald Trump’s victory in this week’s US presidential election, Totoki said Sony was considering, in a broad sense, how best to deal with any new tariffs that could be imposed. “Our position is that we respect the US citizens’ choice, and as I’m not a geopolitics specialist, I’ll let those specialists give their analysis,” he said.
But “the impact the US economy has on the global economy and on geopolitics is extremely big, and that in turn would have an impact on our business.” “So we’ll squarely observe the facts, make forecasts, and do whatever we can.”
© 2024 AFP
