PlayStation 5 sales are at an all-time high, and profits are at a record high

Sony reported record annual operating revenue on Friday, helped by its chip division and record-breaking PlayStation 5 home game console sales for the fiscal year.

Here’s what Sony did in the March quarter against Refinitiv consensus estimates:

• he won: 3.06 trillion yen ($22.7 billion), compared to an expected 2.92 trillion yen. This represents an increase of 35% year-over-year.
• operating profit: 128.5 billion yen vs. 124.34 billion yen expected. This represents a decrease of 7% year-over-year.

For the full fiscal year that ended in March, Sony previously forecast operating profit of 1.18 trillion yen and 11.5 trillion yen in revenue. The company exceeded its expectations with an operating profit of 1.21 trillion yen, which was a record for the company.

Sony expected its sales for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2024, to be 11.5 trillion yen, roughly the same as last year. It said operating profit would come in at 1.17 trillion yen, down 3% year on year.

Sony said it sold 19.1 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the fiscal year, exceeding its forecast of 18 million units. This was up from the 11.5 million PS5 units sold in the previous fiscal year when Sony was experiencing supply chain issues.

One of its biggest earnings drivers for the year was the Japanese giant’s gaming division, with an operating profit of 250 billion yen, although that was down 27% year over year.

For the fiscal year, Sony’s gaming division generated revenue of 3.64 trillion yen, up 33% year-on-year. Business was Sony’s largest category by sales.

Sony expects operating profit of its gaming business to be 270 billion yen for the current fiscal year. The company hopes that PlayStation VR 2, the company’s virtual reality gaming headset, will help boost sales. The company said it will see improved profitability from the devices next year.

Sony said it aims to sell 25 million PS5 units in the current fiscal year. If achieved, it would be a record for the PS5.

The company competes with Microsoft’s Nintendo Switch and Xbox console.

Sony sells image sensor chips that go into smartphones and other camera products. The image sensor business saw profits rise 36% year-on-year to 212.2 billion yen in the year ended March 31.

However, the company expects the division’s operating profit to drop 5.7% in the current fiscal year, citing waning demand for its image sensors, particularly from Chinese smartphone makers.

Meanwhile, the company’s music publishing business, which has artists from Beyoncé to Adele on its roster, saw profits rise 24.7% year-on-year to 263.1 billion yen in the year ended March 31. This was Sony’s biggest business in terms of profits.