provided a full-year revenue forecast that surpassed expectations on Wednesday, citing robust PlayStation and entertainment results. But the company had a much more mixed view for smartphones.
Sony said business conditions for some consumer electronics products have deteriorated worse than anticipated.
For the June quarter,
(ticker: SONY) reported revenue of 2.96 trillion yen (around $20.7 billion), which was above analyst expectations of 2.5 trillion yen, according to FactSet. The company updated its revenue forecast for its full fiscal year ending in March 2024 to 12.2 trillion yen from 11.5 trillion yen, which was also better than the 11.9 trillion yen consensus.
Sony’s PlayStation division is doing well. PS5 console hardware sales were up 38% year over year in the fiscal first quarter. The company said it is seeing improving PS5 sales momentum after implementing marketing promotions last month.
The movie business is also robust with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse surpassing $680 million in global box office, making the movie the highest grossing animated feature in Sony’s history.
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But Sony’s television and smartphone business is faltering. The company’s executives said demand in both products remains weak and they will proactively cut expenses and manage inventories for those categories.
“The smartphone products market is worsening compared with our expectations due to a delayed market recovery China, a prolonged slump in the European market, and a slowdown in the North America,” Sony Chief Operating Officer Hiroki Totoki said on an earnings conference call with analysts.
Global smartphone demand has been deteriorating. Last month, research firm Canalys said second-quarter worldwide shipments for mobile phones fell 10% year over year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
(TSM) also said last month the smartphone market had worsened over the past three months.
Investors seemed to focus in on Sony’s comments on the weak business conditions for consumer electronics products. The company’s American depositary receipts fell 4.5% to $85.82 in early trading Wednesday amid a general pullback for technology stocks.
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Write to Tae Kim at [email protected]
