PlayStation 3 helps Sony back into profit
Filmed entertainment revenue dropped 11.2%
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/14/2008
MAY 14 | Stemming PlayStation 3 operating losses, Sony returned to profit in its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter and posted record year-end earnings.
Sony recorded $29 billion yen ($290 million) in net income for the three months ended March 31. That compares to the net loss of 67.6 billion yen for the same frame in fiscal 2007.
Quarterly revenue fell 6.5% to 2 trillion yen ($19.5 billion), but Sony calculated that its results are basically flat on a local currency basis.
For the full year, Sony jumped nearly 200% to 369.4 billion yen ($3.69 billion) in net income. Total revenue lifted 6.9% to 8.9 trillion yen ($88.7 billion), marking a new fiscal year sales record, according to the company.
Apart from filmed entertainment, which was a sore spot for the company, many Sony divisions tallied gains during the fiscal 2008 year. Notably, Sony cut its game segment operating loss by about half to 124.5 billion yen ($1.2 billion). Sony management cited continued PS3 hardware cost reductions, plus rising sales of PS3 software, for helping that company to dig out of its gaming hole.
For the year, worldwide PS3 system sales totaled 9.2 million, almost tripling the console’s base at the same point during fiscal 2007. PlayStation Portable sold 13.9 million units during the year, according to Sony.
In gaming software, PS3 sold 57.9 million units, marking a jump of 44.6 million units from the prior year.
The company’s gaming segment should generate positive operating income by year-end fiscal 2009, due to further hardware cost reductions and a stronger software lineup, the company said.
Sony blamed a relatively sparse film slate for its mixed results within its theatrical and home entertainment division. Total revenue fell 11.2% to 857.9 billion yen ($8.6 billion). Yet operating income hiked 26.5% to 54 billion yen ($540 million). Falling sales were offset by home entertainment revenue from Spider-Man 3 and Superbad.
Elsewhere, strengthening sales of Sony’s Bravia TV line, VAIO PCs and Cyber-shot digital cameras drove up the company's electronics division 122% in operating income to 356 billion yen ($3.6 billion).
