Sales of PlayStation 5 Reach All-Time Highs, Boosting Sony's Annual Profit

Having sold a record number of PlayStation 5 gaming consoles this year, Sony posted record annual operating revenue on Friday.

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Based on Refinitiv consensus estimates, Sony performed as follows:

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• Revenue: 22.7% higher than expectations, at 3.06 trillion Japanese yen ($22.7 billion). The increase year-over-year is 35%.

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• Operating profit: 128.5 billion Japanese yen against 124.34 billion. The decline is 7% year-over-year.

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According to Sony's previous forecasts, it will make an operating profit of 1.18 trillion yen in the full fiscal year which ended in March, and revenue of 11.5 trillion yen in the full fiscal year. With an operating profit of 1.21 trillion yen, it achieved a record for the company, beating its own forecast with a profit of 1.21 trillion yen.

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There has been a prediction by Sony that its sales are going to be 11.5 trillion yen for the fiscal year 2024, which ends on March 30th, roughly flat from last year. This year, operating profit for the company is expected to come in at 1.17 trillion yen, a decrease of 3% from the previous year.

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Sales of the PlayStation 5 have reached a record high

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There were 19.1 million PlayStation 5 consoles sold by Sony during the last financial year, a figure which exceeded its own estimate of 18 million. In the previous fiscal year, Sony had been experiencing supply chain issues that resulted in the sale of 11.5 million PS5 units.

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A large part of the company's profits was driven by its gaming division, which brought in operating profits of 250 billion yen for the year, although this was down 27% as compared to the previous year.

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In the fiscal year under review, Sony's gaming division generated revenues of 3.64 trillion yen, up 33% from the previous year, which is a record high. As far as sales are concerned, it was Sony's largest business sector by far.

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For the current fiscal year, Sony expects that its gaming business will have an operating profit of 270 billion yen in its gaming division. There is hope that PlayStation VR 2, the company's virtual reality gaming headset, is going to be able to boost sales for the company going forward. As a result, it says that the company will be able to increase the profitability of its hardware business next year.

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A Sony spokesperson said the company is targeting 25 million PS5 sales in its current fiscal year. The PS5 would be able to achieve this if it were achieved.

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There is a competition between Nintendo's Switch console and Microsoft's Xbox One.

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Profits increase with chips and music

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In smartphones and other camera products, Sony sells image sensor chips. Profits for its image sensor business jumped 36% year-on-year to 212.2 billion yen in the year ended March 31.

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A slump in demand for its image sensors, particularly from Chinese smartphone makers, is expected to impact operating profit for the division in the current fiscal year, the company says.

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Music business profits rose 24.7% to 263.1 billion yen in the year ended March 31 from the previous year, featuring artists like Beyoncé and Adele. Sony's most profitable business was this one.

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