Sony Enjoys Record Quarter As Entertainment Divisions Boom

Sony, best known for its electronics, is gradually becoming an entertainment organisation – and its record third quarter results, spanning the three month period ending 31st December, reflect that. The company registered operating income of ¥377 billion (~$3.5 billion), with PlayStation once again leading the charge – despite the gaming division’s year-over-year profits being down ¥12.3 billion (~$112 million).

The company put the decline down to a decrease in PlayStation 4 hardware sales, which it acknowledged was a natural symptom of the product’s age. In spite of this, gaming revenue increased 10 per cent year-over-year due to surging software sales, while it maintained its forecast of 17.5 million consoles shipped for the fiscal year as a whole. It needs to ship just 2.3 million units in the three month period ending 31st March to achieve this.

As of 31st December, the manufacturer has shipped 94.2 million PS4 consoles globally, and maintained 36.3 million PlayStation Plus subscribers. All of this has helped propel Sony to a record quarter, although Sony Music’s acquisition of EMI helped profits of that sector jump by ¥107.8 billion (~$989 million) year-over-year. Its movie division also saw steady growth, up ¥1.1 billion (~$10 million) compared to the same period last year.

In fact, all of the Japanese giant’s divisions are in profit apart from its smartphone sector, which registered a ¥15.5 billion (~$142 million) loss. Nevertheless, the organisation’s forecasting operating income of ¥870 billion (~$7.9 billion) for the fiscal year as a whole, which is a far cry from the years of bleeding that the firm experienced a decade or so ago. Who’d have thought that the man best known for screaming “Ridge Racer” was capable of all this?