TOKYO ( Associated Press) — Sony’s fiscal fourth quarter jumped 67% over the previous year to 111.1 billion yen ($852.7 million), as the Japanese entertainment and electronics company raked profits in the video game and movie divisions.
Tokyo-based Sony Corp.’s January-March quarter sales rose 1% to 2.26 trillion yen ($17 billion), the company said on Tuesday, as its music operations also performed well, fueling the popularity of streaming services.
For the full fiscal year ended March, Sony posted a profit of 882 billion yen ($6.8 billion), down 14% despite the success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. Which contributed to theatrical revenue.
Sony said sales in its TV division were also fueled by the licensing proceeds of “Seinfeld” and other titles.
Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki told reporters that income from cinemas was recently returning to levels recorded before the coronavirus pandemic, which imposed restrictions around the world to stem the spread of infections.
Totoki said that by revamping its product lineup, profits in TVs and digital cameras have improved, overcoming supply challenges that have come from disruptions brought on by COVID-19. But several months may be needed to address new supply problems stemming from recent sanctions in China.He added.
Reversing the previous write-down of deferred tax assets in the previous financial year also helped to reduce the latest annual profit due to absence of tax-deductible perquisites.
It is expected to benefit from declining sales for the fiscal year through March 2023 that will come on top of expected growth in material sales. According to Sony, the dollar was trading at 116 yen, up from around 106 yen last year.
Sales were also boosted by Sony’s acquisition of Crunchyroll, which streams animation. Sony has recently been banking on the Metaverse, an immersive virtual world where it faces rivals like Facebook or Meta.
Sony, which also makes TVs and portable digital music players, expects to post a profit of 830 billion yen ($6.4 billion) for the fiscal year through March 2023.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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