Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, exceeded its targets for the 2023/24 financial year with a record turnover of 13.200 billion yen (approximately 86,4 billion euros), marking an increase of 19% compared to the previous year. The credit for the success is due to the good results of the video game business and the music streaming service. Despite this, theNet income fell by 3,5% to 970,6 billion yen (5,7 billion euros), while theoperating profit decreased by 7,2%. This decline is mainly attributed to the negative performance of its financial business. The food sector is also not very brilliant semiconductors with a decrease in profitability due to the increase in production costs. However, an acceleration in the food market is expected image sensors for mobile phones, which will have a positive impact on the operating result.
Due to disappointing results in the financial sector, Sony shows itself cautious about the future, predicting a decline in game, video and movie sales. The stime on profits for the current fiscal year are revised downwards. The Japanese giant plans a decline in net profit by 5% and sales by 5,5% in 2024/25.
Sony plans to partially do so in the future separate its financial division with a public offering in October 2025, focusing on its entertainment and chip units.
PlayStation 5 sales below target
Sony announced that it had sold 20,8 million PlayStation 5 units in the full year, slightly below the revised target of 21 million units due to weaker-than-expected sales during the year-end shopping season. However if you look at the previous year the sales of the console
increased by 1,7 million units.
The gaming industry has been hit by a slowdown, with both gaming giants Microsoft and Sony announcing cost-cutting measures. Microsoft decided to close studios, including Tango Gameworks in Tokyo, last week, while Sony announced in February the dismissal of 900 employees of its games division and the closure of a studio in London.
Sony: first quarter 2024 results
In quarter in March, Sony reported revenue of 3,5 trillion yen, beating forecasts of 2,89 trillion yen, up 14% year-over-year. However, this represents the first decline since the September 2020 quarter according to LSEG data. L'operating profit was 229,4 billion yen, compared to the expected 236,81 billion yen, marking a 57% increase year-over-year.
The Japanese technology conglomerate plans a partial spin-off of its financial unit with an October 2025 listing, to focus on its entertainment and chip units.
Sony in talks to buy Paramount Global
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, last week, Sony Pictures has expressed interest in theacquisition of Paramount Global together with the company of private equity Apollo. The deal could create a major movie studio with a 20% share of the North American box office.
Sony and Apollo would have offered 26 billion of dollars for the purchase of the multinational, created by the merger between CBS Corporation and Viacom in 2019, with the possibility of dividing the entertainment giant into various segments. Possibilities include selling CBS, cable channels and the Paramount Plus streaming service.
Paramount agreed to enter into negotiations after a period of exclusive negotiations with film production company Skydance. Under the terms of the agreement, Sony would be the majority shareholder in the event of an acquisition.
