Sony sells 2.4 million PS5 units in Q1, PlayStation division sees profit
Sony Group raised its forecast for revenue and profit for the fiscal year to March after a successful quarter for its music and gaming software divisions. The Japanese entertainment giant said its operating profit for the three months ended June was JPY 279.1 billion ($1.9 billion or about Rs. 15,949 crore), beating the consensus estimate of JPY 273.9 billion (about Rs. 15,736 crore) and the year-ago profit of JPY 253 billion (about Rs. 14,535 crore). Revenue for the fiscal year is now expected to come in at JPY 12.6 trillion (about Rs. 7,23,995 crore), with operating profit of JPY 1.3 trillion (about Rs. 74,697 crore), both slightly increased.
The main PlayStation division saw a boost from the popularity of first-party and online multiplayer games such as Helldivers 2, though much of the boost came from favorable currency exchange rates, Sony said in its report on Wednesday. The company sold 2.4 million units of its aging PlayStation 5 console, well short of the three million that analysts had expected.
“The PlayStation business is not as strong as the numbers suggest, as profits and revenues were inflated by the weak yen,” said Morningstar Investment Director Kazunori Ito. “Sony had said hardware sales would slow from this fiscal year onwards, but it appears the pace is much faster than we expected.”
The music segment contributed the bulk of the quarter’s profit, thanks to its catalog of top-selling artists and the growing popularity overseas of Japanese-made anime, which also falls under the music group. The company saw higher revenue from merchandising and live events, as well as higher revenue from streaming services like Spotify. It revised its sales forecast for both gaming and music by 3 percent.
“The music segment has become an ideal cash cow that other companies would envy,” said Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda. “The segment should continue to grow in the foreseeable future.”
Sony’s image sensor production yields improved and the company said it saw an increase in unit sales during the period. The global smartphone market accelerated its return to growth in the June quarter, with shipments rising 6 percent, market watcher IDC reported in July. Sony customers Xiaomi Corp. and Vivo led the way in expanding their unit shipments.
But analysts warn that the Tokyo-based company could face a new set of challenges if the yen strengthens again. The company makes a large portion of its revenue overseas, including sales of consoles and image sensors as well as entertainment licensing, and the yen’s persistent weakness in recent years has helped boost its profits.
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