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Sony posts 45% Q2 profit rise on movies, games boost
Sony’s operating profit rose 45 per cent in its second quarter, helped by stronger results from its games and films businesses. The performance led the Japanese company to raise its full-year profit outlook by 9 per cent.
Profit reached 622.3 billion yen, or about US$3.95 billion, beating market estimates. Sony cited the film “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” among the contributors; it sold 2.6 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the quarter, down from 4 million a year earlier. The games business may benefit from the launch of “Grand Theft Auto VI” on 19 November, while higher memory chip prices pose a cost pressure; Sony also raised its outlook for its chips and music divisions.
In short
- Sony’s quarterly operating profit increased 45 per cent.
- Games and films helped lift results and the annual outlook.
- PS5 sales fell to 2.6 million units from 4 million.
Explained simply
Sony is a Japanese electronics and entertainment company with businesses spanning PlayStation games, films, music and image sensors. Its operating profit measures how much it earns from its core businesses before interest and some other costs.
The company’s games business includes PlayStation consoles and games, while its film studio makes and distributes titles such as Spider-Man. Sales and releases can vary from quarter to quarter, and the different divisions face different costs, including the memory chips used in electronics.
Sony’s results matter to investors because they show how its mix of entertainment and technology businesses is performing. Its outlook also gives an indication of how the company expects those businesses to contribute over the full financial year.