Sony Expects Group Net Profit to Top 1 T. Yen in FY 2020

Tokyo, Feb. 3 (Jiji Press)--Sony Corp. <6758> said Wednesday that its consolidated net profit for the year ending in March is projected to grow 86.4 pct from the previous year to a record high of 1,085 billion yen, topping the 1-trillion-yen mark for the first time. Sony revised up a net profit estimate of 800 billion yen made in October last year, as strong demand from people staying home amid the coronavirus pandemic boosted revenues from the game business and sales of television sets. The upbeat forecast is also attributed to blockbuster animation film "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Infinity Train," jointly distributed by Sony and Toho Co. <9602>. The Japanese technology and entertainment firm also forecasts a record operating profit of 940 billion yen, up 11.2 pct, on group sales of 8.8 trillion yen, up 6.5 pct, compared with the October estimates of 700 billion yen in operating profit and 8.5 trillion yen in sales. Five business divisions, excluding the coronavirus-battered movie operation, are expected to surpass their sales targets. The game business is earning most thanks to brisk demand for software and paid services for users of PlayStation consoles. Sales of the PlayStation 5, launched in November last year, had totaled 4.5 million units as of the end of December, on course to achieve the 7.6-million-unit target for the current business year. "We'll make full efforts to deliver as many (PlayStation 5) as possible," Sony Executive Deputy President Hiroki Totoki told an online news conference, referring to supply shortfalls of the home video game machine. Sony also said the music division will see its sales beat the initial estimate by 50 billion yen, because the hefty earnings from the megahit anime movie will be booked as the division's revenue. Among other earnings-positive developments is partial resumption in late November of camera imaging sensor shipments to China's Huawei Technologies Co. Sony had to suspend the shipments for some two months to obtain a U.S. license for transactions with the Chinese firm, which was designated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission as a national security threat. Sony also reported Wednesday that its group net profit in April-December jumped 87.0 pct from a year earlier to 1,064.7 billion yen, a record high for the nine-month period. END