Sony Pictures Reports Profit of $230 Million for Q1

Studio expects COVID-related delays in theatrical releases to impact financial results for two to three years

Sony Pictures lot
Amy Sussman / Getty Images

Sony reported earnings for its fiscal first-quarter late Monday and garnered a profit of $230 million at its Sony Pictures division.

The company, like many others in Hollywood and across the country at large, has been negatively impacted by the continued spread of the novel coronavirus. Sony said in its first-quarter release that the significant production delays at its movie studio and of its TV productions have had a major impact on the business.

Sony also acknowledged that the negative impact from delays in theatrical releases will impact financial results for roughly two to three years, but the company did say demand for content from video distribution companies is high, with its digital sales trending well.

The pictures segment, which includes the motion picture business, TV, media networks, and home entertainment, pulled in $1.6 billion in revenue during the first quarter, the company said. Last year during the same three-month period, Sony reported $1.7 in revenue and $3 million in profit.

The motion picture business contributed $604 million to the segment’s overall revenue, despited theatrical revenue only amounting to $6 million in the quarter. Sony saw strong performance in home entertainment and TV distribution of its films.

Sony’s TV production business generated $597 million in revenue, and media networks accounted for $419 million.

Across the wider Japan-based company the electronics conglomerate reported net income of $1.8 billion (JPY186.94 billion) and revenue of $18.6 billion (JPY1,968 billion).

Revenue for Sony’s music division saw revenue drop to $1.7 billion (JPY177 billion) and operating income hit $325 million (JPY35 billion). Streaming music revenues enjoyed a slight bump, but physical sales were heavily impacted in the quarter.

The games and network services segment pulled in $5.7 billion (JPY606 billion) in revenue during the quarter, with $1.2 billion (JPY124 billion) in operating income.

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