Sony posts robust results as demand for music and games increases
Tokyo-based Sony Corp. said on Wednesday that its annual profit was 1.14 trillion yen (€6.9 billion), up from 970.6bn yen (€5.9bn) in the previous fiscal year.
Annual sales were virtually unchanged, down to 13tn yen (€78.9bn).
One area that lagged among Sony's sprawling businesses was the financial segment, where revenue stalled. However, its film division and its imaging and sensor solutions segment did well.
Among the movies that fared positively at the box office for the fiscal year ended 31 March were 'Venom: The Last Dance,' featuring the Marvel Comics superhero, and 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die,' an action comedy, in which Will Smith and Martin Lawrence come back in their popular cop roles, the fourth instalment in the series.
Sony, which makes the PlayStation console and game software played on that machine, also did well in the gaming business.
Its music operations, which recorded strong figures as well, include recordings, streaming services and music for games. The top-selling recorded music projects for the latest fiscal year globally was SZA's 'SOS Deluxe: LANA,' followed by Beyonce, Future & Metro Boomin and Travis Scott.
For the Japan music business, the top-seller was Kenshi Yonezu's 'Lost Corner' album, followed by offerings from Stray Kids and Six Tones.
For the January-March quarter, Sony posted a 197.7bn yen (€1.2bn) profit, up 5% from 189bn yen (€1.1bn) in the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Sales were 2.6tn yen (€15.8bn), down 24% from the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal year.
Sony is forecasting a nearly 13% drop in profit for the fiscal year through March 2026, to 930bn yen (€5.6bn), on 11.7tn yen (€71.1bn) sales, down 2.9% year-on-year. This is partly due to the impact of US tariffs.
The company's share price fell 3% in Tokyo morning trading.
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