TOKYO, Jul 29 (BUS): Sony’s profit rose 3% last quarter, weathering production setbacks from the COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and a trend away from video games as pandemic restrictions ease elsewhere.
Japan’s Sony Electronics and Entertainment Co. said Friday that Tokyo-based Sony Corp.’s April-June profit was 218 billion yen ($1.6 billion), up from 212 billion yen a year ago.
Quarterly sales rose 2% to 2.31 trillion yen ($17.4 billion), on the back of strong demand for Sony’s music operations, including Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” and Doja Cat’s “Planet Her”.
Among the top performers in the movies was Morbius, a movie based on the Marvel Comics hero. But Sony is hoping “Bullet Train,” starring Brad Pitt and slated for release in August, will do well at the box office.
Sony Corporation, which makes PlayStation video game consoles and Bravia TVs, and Columbia Pictures, said sales from the music streaming service rose during the quarter.
Despite some concern about the global economic slowdown, the streaming business was expected to remain stable, the chief financial officer said, as sales slipped in the video games and technology services sector.
One of the reasons, Totoki said, is that with the easing of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, people have been playing games less and going out instead.
Also, a shortage of computer chips has slowed production of Sony’s PlayStation 5.
Sony’s game software sales fell last quarter, while software development costs rose. Sony has acknowledged that a slowdown in shipments may limit gamers’ interest in the PlayStation 5. But the company is counting on major game titles due for release later in the year to revive sales.
Sony said it expects its full-year profit to fall to 800 billion yen ($6 billion) from 882 billion yen a year earlier.
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