Sony Group stated on Tuesday that its second-quarter operating profit rose to expectations, after announcing a share buyback worth 100 billion Japanese yen ($648 million).
Here are Sony’s second-quarter results compared to LSEG SmartEstimates, which are expected by analysts and are more appropriately aligned, such as: Revenue is 3.108 trillion Japanese yen, compared to 2.985 trillion yen expected. Operating profit is 429 billion yen in comparison to 398.44 billion yen forecasted.
Sony’s operating profit increased by 10 percent compared to the same quarter last year. As a result, overall revenues grew by 5 percent year-over-year.
The Japanese technology giant reported that currently, it expects operating profit for its fiscal year to up by 100 billion yen, or 8 percent above its previous expectations, which is driven by profits from its Imaging & Sensing Solutions and Music segments.
Additionally, Sony raised its annual revenue forecast by 300 billion yen, representing a 3 percent increase from its earlier outlook.
This resulted in Sony witnessing strength in its game and network services sector, which centers on its popular PlayStation home console brand.
Symbolizing Sony’s major revenue driver, the division posted sales worth 1.113 trillion yen, which increased 3.9 percent year-over-year.
In recent quarters, Game and network services have performed significantly; it’s only possible for a shift to digital game purchases and the PlayStation Plus subscription service. Therefore, the expansion in hardware shipments has been comparably muted.
The company has also seen substantial expansion in its music business, its second-largest segment, with sales rising over 20 percent from the same period last year. Revenue from its Imaging & Sensing Solutions business reached 14.75 percent.
Sony’s KPop Demon Hunters
Although the strong visualization, its sales of picture business shrank about 2.75 percent year-over-year. This was because Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters, which premiered on June 20, was this year’s hit production.
The movie, which was produced by Sony, has been the most-watched and popular Netflix animated film before; it also continues to break streaming records for its original soundtrack.
Despite its popularity and hit, Sony has losses, as it sells the film’s exclusive rights to Netflix.
However, the information about the agreement is unclear; it was also reported that Sony made an initial $25 million profit from producing the film for Netflix.
Netflix witnessed K-pop Demon Hunters make a huge viewership and even put up its 17 percent revenue hike in its September quarter.
Thus, Sony intends to form a continuation to the movie, which has already been confirmed, with Netflix by offering the Japanese company $15 million cash bonus for the first film’s performance.
