Adele and Spider-Man help lift profits at Japanese electronics giant Sony
2 February 2022, 10:14
The latest album from the UK singer helped to boost earnings in the quarter to December, Sony said.
Sony’s profit for the quarter through to December edged up 11% thanks to healthy sales from music including Adele’s new album, as well the latest Spider-Man movie.
Tokyo-based Sony recorded a 346 billion yen (£2.2 billion) profit for the fiscal third quarter, up from 310.7 billion yen (£2 billion) the previous year.
Quarterly sales edged up to three trillion yen (£19 billion) from 2.7 trillion yen (£17 billion).
Sony said strong offerings in its music division, like the album 30 from Adele, movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, and licensing income from the Seinfeld series had lifted earnings.
Its imaging and sensor unit also posted solid results.
In video games, sales fell short of expectations as a parts supply crunch, especially of semiconductors, dented sales of its PlayStation 5 machine, Sony said.
The company’s chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, said Sony’s acquisition of Bungie, known for its Halo and Destiny games, for 3.6 billion dollars (£2.6 billion) highlighted its commitment to the gaming business.
The purchase includes payments to the shareholder creators at the independent studio to ensure their retention, he said.
Analysts say the addition complements Sony’s strength in shooting games and will further solidify its position.
But competition is heating up in the video game industry.
Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the maker of Candy Crush and Call of Duty, for 68.7 billion dollars (£50 billion), turning the maker of the Xbox into one of the world’s largest game companies.
Sony has been branching into new areas, recently showing an electric vehicle prototype at a Las Vegas trade show. The company has said it hopes to turn the car into a new kind of entertainment space.
Sony, which also makes TVs and portable digital music players, is also banking on the metaverse, the immersive virtual world, where it faces rivals like Facebook, or Meta.
Sony forecast an 860 billion yen (£5.5 billion) profit for the full year through March, down from one trillion yen (£6.4 billion) in the previous fiscal year. The latest forecast marks an improvement from the 730 billion yen (£4.7 billion) profit it projected in October.
