PS4 Software Sales, Stronger Movie and TV Earnings Boost Sony’s Second Quarter Earnings
TOKYO — Sony today announced increases in revenues and net profit in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.
Net profit increased $1.11 billion (¥126.0 billion) year-on-year to $1.16 billion (¥130.9 billion), while operating profit gained $1.4 billion (¥158.5 billion) year-on-year to $1.81 billion (¥204.2 billion). Revenues rose by 22.1% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year to $18.2 billion (¥2,062.5 billion).
One big contributor to positive results was the Games and Networks Service segment, which reported a 35.4% year-on-year sales gain to $3.8 billion (¥433.2 billion), with strong PlayStation4 software sales driving growth.
Sales in the Pictures segment rose 27.0% year-on-year to $2.16 billion (¥244.0 billion), while operating profit increased from $28 million (¥3.2 billion) to $68 million (¥7.7 billion). Both higher movie and media network earnings contributed, led by brisk ticket sales for the global hit “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and higher ad and subscription sales for SPE’s Indian sports network.
Meanwhile, for the six months ending on Sept. 30, operating profit rose $2.3 billion (¥259.9 billion) year-on-year to $3.2 billion (¥361.8 billion) with the semiconductors segment making a major contribution. Sales for the same period gained 18.7% year-on-year to $34.7 billion (¥3,920.6 billion).
Sony has boosted its forecast figures for the 2017 fiscal year from the outlook announced in August. The company now expects net profit to total $3.36 billion (¥380 billion), compared to the previous $2.26 billion figure (¥255 billion), for a gain of $2.7 billion (¥307 billion) year-on-year. It also raised its revenue forecast from $73.4 billion (¥8,300 billion) to $75.1 billion (¥8,500 billion) for a year-on-year increase of 12%. Exchange rate shifts, as well as higher-than-expected sales in the Music and the Home Entertainment and Sound segments, helped prompt the corrections.
The outlook for the Pictures segment remains unchanged from August, however, with operating profit for the fiscal year expected to total $345 million (¥39 billion) for a year-on-year gain of $1.06 billion (¥120 billion) and revenues forecast to grow 13% year-on-year to $9.02 billion (¥1,020 billion).
Related stories
'Blade Runner 2049' Opens With $50.2 Million in International Box Office
Sony PlayStation Boss Andrew House Steps Down
Sony Announces New PlayStation VR Headset With Integrated Earbuds
Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!
