Sony Pictures saw its fiscal first-quarter bottom line drop to a profit of $115 million (16 billion yen), down 68 percent from the $394 million (50.7 billion yen) profit it reported during the same period in 2022.
While theatrical sales were up, revenue from new TV series and streaming licensing were down. Promotional costs also increased.
Revenue in the Japanese conglomerate’s pictures division, meanwhile was down 6 per cent to $2.3 billion.
Sony Pictures profit forecast for the current fiscal year, ending in March 2024 is for 120 billion yen, unchanged at $835 million at current exchange rates.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was its biggest earner, taking $591 million globally since its release at the beginning of June, while The Pope’s Exorcist logged $75 million. The same period last year saw just releases globally of Morbius ($167 million in total global sales) and Father Stu ($22 million).
The music division was a bright spot, with releases from SZA and Miley Cyrus, as well as continued strong sales from Harry Styles, helping to push profits up 20 percent to $86 million (12.4 billion yen). The full-year forecast for the division was raised by 6 percent.
Operating income at the games division fell despite the advantages of a weak yen, which also softened the falls at the pictures segment, also impacted by acquisitions including Bungie Inc. However sales were up 28 percent to $1.17 billion (168 billion yen) on higher revenue from both hardware and software, further boosted by the yen’s weakness.
Overall operating income at Sony Corp. was down 31 percent to $1.77 billion (253 billion yen) for the quarter, despite sales rising by 33 percent.
Sony Corp. reported its latest financial results, covering the firm’s performance from April to June, on Wednesday from its headquarters in central Tokyo.
Sony stock was trading almost flat in Tokyo before the earnings announcement at ¥12,960 ($90.54) but is up around 10 percent over the last year.
More to come…
