Sony Net Profit Up 13.5% In Two Quarters Of 2022

Sony Group Corp. on Tuesday raised its net profit forecast for the year through March to 840 billion yen ($5.66 billion), expecting sales in its music, games, and film businesses to benefit from the weaker yen but warned of the risks from a global slowdown, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: Sony said that sales in the games sector have benefitted as well from the rise in prices of the PlayStation 5 game consoles in September.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant had estimated in July a net profit of 800 billion yen. It also raised its sales outlook to 11.6 trillion yen from 11.5 trillion yen and its operating profit to 1.16 trillion yen from 1.11 trillion yen for the current business year ending next March.

The latest net profit, sales, and operating profit outlooks represent a fall of 4.8 percent, a rise of 16.9 percent, and a decline of 3.5 percent, respectively, from the previous business year.

Sony said sales in the music segment are expected to rise due to favorable foreign exchange rates and a robust music streaming business. It said that sales in the games sector have benefitted as well from the rise in prices of the PlayStation 5 game consoles in September, Mainichi Japan also reported.

The company put its assumed exchange rate for the US dollar at roughly 140 yen and around 138 yen for the euro for the current fiscal year 2022, up from 112.3 yen and 130.5 yen in fiscal 2021, respectively.

A weaker yen increases the value of Sony's overseas earnings when repatriated, although it inflates import costs for raw materials and components.

Sony's Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki said the market environment has been worsening, but the company's diverse portfolio, ranging from entertainment to semiconductors, has helped cushion its impact.

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