Sony Profits Soar to $4.5 bn on Image Sensor Sales, Movies
Sony on Friday reported profits worth $4.5 billion, supported by better sales almost across the board, including games, movies and image sensors.
Sony reported net yearly profits hit 490.8 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the year to March, a record high, up from 73.3 billion yen a year earlier.
Annual operating profit more than doubled to 734.86 billion yen, while sales surged 12.4 percent to 8.54 trillion yen, the company said.
Sales were up across the board, with the exception of the mobile operation, with asset sales adding to its operating profit, Sony said.
The game division saw an 18-percent rise in sales largely, driven by the popularity of PlayStation 4 software, as well as foreign exchange rates and more subscribers to Sony's paid membership service.
After the commercial successes of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle", Sony's pictures division saw sales rise 12 percent.
Jumanji managed the rare feat of regaining the top spot in North American box offices on its seventh week in cinemas, and has earned more than $404 million in the North American market since its December 2017 release.
Sony also saw robust demand for image sensors for mobile phones drive sales in its semiconductor business up 10 percent.
Meanwhile, Sony's quality sensors for smartphone cameras saw explosive demand, along with the PlayStation series of game consoles, movies, and its financial businesses.
But falling sales of smartphones continued and will likely drop further during the ongoing year.
For the year to March 2019, the firm expects a moderate slowdown, with net profit seen falling 2.2 percent to 480 billion yen and operating profit down 8.8 percent to 670 billion yen.
Annual sales are expected to drop 2.9 percent to 8.3 trillion yen.