Sony Pictures Year’s Profit Drops By 45%

Sony Pictures Entertainment, the movie and television production unit of Sony Corporation, reported a 45% drop in operating income to $894 million for fiscal year 2022, which ended in March.

The decline was attributed to the absence of blockbuster theatrical releases and one-time gains that boosted the previous year’s results. Sales were also down by $851 million, although yen-based sales rose by 11% due to the strength of the dollar against the Japanese currency.

In contrast, the previous year was boosted by the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, as well as the $1 billion sale of GSN Games and a $500 million licensing deal for Seinfeld to Netflix.

The fourth quarter, however, showed a slight increase in profit to $119 million, with sales of $2.71 billion. Sony Pictures’ profit forecast for fiscal year 2023 is ¥120 billion, which is equivalent to $890 million at current exchange rates.

At the group level, Sony Corporation reported operating profit of $8.9 billion for the full year, with overall sales up 16% to $85.5 billion. The music division performed well, with sales growing by 24% to $1.95 billion and operating income reaching $390 million, driven by hit albums from Harry Styles and Beyoncé.

The gaming division also posted strong sales, with the flagship PlayStation 5 console selling 19.1 million units during the year, up from 11.5 million in fiscal year 2021. However, operating income fell by 28% to $710 million due to increased costs resulting from the weak yen.

Despite the decline in operating income for Sony Pictures, the overall positive performance of the corporation led to a 2% increase in Sony shares during Friday afternoon trading in Tokyo.

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