Sony Posts Better Than Expected Q2 Earnings, Profit

Sony Pictures division reported income of $209 million during the three-month period

Sony Earnings
TheWrap

On Tuesday, Sony Corp. reported earnings and revenue for the second quarter above Wall Street expectations, with the media, technology and entertainment company’s film division earning $209 million during the three-month period.

The Japan-based parent company reported earnings per share of $1.20, according to the company’s quarterly earnings report. That was above the 91 cents per share earnings one analyst via Yahoo Finance expected, and better than the 93 cents per share the company reported during the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue during the quarter was $19.6 billion, up compared to $18.6 billion a year ago and above the $19.1 billion analysts forecast.

The company’s Sony Pictures division, which includes the motion pictures business, as well as TV production and media networks, posted a profit after reporting a loss of $68 million in its three months ending June 30.

Sony said that the company’s pictures division saw a year-over-year decline in revenue because of a decrease in worldwide theatrical revenues due to the strong performance of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” during the second quarter last year.  That, however, was partially offset by higher TV licensing revenues for titles that were released in 2017, notably “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “Peter Rabbit.”

The company expects full-year revenue for the motion pictures group to be higher-than-expected thanks to strong theatrical performances of titles released in the current fiscal year.

The music division saw profits slip slightly to $279.5 million from $288.5 million during the same quarter a year ago. Sony said music revenues fell year-over-year due to a decrease in physical and digital download revenues, which were partially offset by an increase in streaming revenues.

The gaming and network services arm nearly doubled earnings, making $804 million compared to $485.8 million in the second quarter. Game software sales, which include those for the company’s popular PlayStation 4 console, increased during the quarter, and Sony said it expects that trend to continue through the full fiscal year, along with an increase in PS4 unit sales and an increase in sales of its paid membership service PlayStation Plus.

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