Sony raises PS5 sales target in full-year profit forecast to hit record high

Sony Group raised its full-year profit forecast, helped by a strong performance for its video games division, and raised its sales target for PlayStation 5 games consoles by one million units to 19 million for the year. until March.

The electronics and entertainment giant also said its chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, will become president and chief operating officer from April 1, while retaining his current position.

Outgoing Chairman Kenichiro Yoshida will remain Chairman and CEO.

“I’m obsessed with growth. All businesses and businesses tend to go into a negative spiral if growth stagnates,” Totoki said at a press conference on Thursday.

“In achieving growth, I would like to create a positive spiral where we are chosen by customers and our employees are energized.”

The company said it now expects operating profit for the year to March 31 to total 1.18 trillion yen (about Rs. 96,98,900 crore), up 1 .7% from its previous forecast of 1.16 trillion yen (about Rs. 95,34,500 crore).

That remains below analysts’ average estimate of a profit of 1.19 trillion yen (around Rs. 97,80,500 crore), according to Refinitiv data, and just short of a record profit of 1. 2 trillion yen (about Rs. 98,62,100 crore) posted a year earlier.

Sony said sales of its Playstation 5 consoles were 7.1 million units in the October-December quarter, straddling the critical year-end shopping season, up sharply from 3.9 million units a year earlier.

“Various steps we have taken both on the hardware and software side are steadily paying off. I believe we are generating positive momentum to re-accelerate the growth of our gaming operations,” Totoki said.

Sony, which competes with Xbox maker Microsoft and Switch supplier Nintendo in the games business, struggled last year to produce enough PlayStation 5 units due to supply chain issues.

Totoki said risks associated with supply chains have yet to be resolved and the company has ramped up game console production sharply in the October-December quarter to be able to safely respond to the request during the current quarter.

For October-December, Sony reported a 7.8% drop in operating profit as its film division fared less well than a year ago, when a blockbuster movie “Spider-Man: No Way Home” generated its profits.

© Thomson Reuters 2023