Operating income at Sony Pictures Entertainment fell 45% percent or $1.04 billion to $730 million, while revenue fell $851 million due to a lack of blockbuster hits in theaters and one-time gains recorded in fiscal 2021. Sales grew 11 percent on a yen basis due to the strength of the dollar against the Japanese currency.
The previous year had been boosted by the huge success of Spider-Man: No Way Home And Venom: Let there be carnageas well as the $1 billion sale of GSN Games and a $500 million licensing deal for Seinfeld to Netflix.
Sony Pictures’ profit forecast for the current fiscal year ending March 2024 is 120 billion yen, virtually unchanged at $730 million at current exchange rates.
At the group level, Sony Corp. full-year operating profit of $7.17 billion (1,208 billion yen), helped by strong music and sensor results, but hit by lower revenues from its photo and gaming businesses. Total sales rose 16 percent to $85.5 billion (11,540 billion yen),
Sony’s flagship PlayStation 5 (PS5) console helped the gaming division reach $6.7 billion in sales, up 33%, boosted by the weak yen. However, higher costs – hit by the weak yen – caused operating income to fall 28 percent to $710 million (96 billion yen).
The music division saw revenue grow 24 percent to $1.95 billion (263 billion yen) for fiscal 2022, with an operating income of $390 million (52 billion yen), thanks to hit albums by Harry Styles and Beyonce.
Sony shares rose about 2 percent to 12,830 yen ($95) during Friday afternoon trading in Tokyo ahead of the results announcement, after rising about 3.5 percent on Thursday.
More to come…
