Sony profits slip due to strikes, but PS5 outlook brightens

Sony saw its overall corporate revenues rise 33% in the second fiscal quarter ended September 30, but it also saw its profits drop 31% due in part to the long actor’s strike.

And while the actor’s strike appears to be over, the toll on Sony was considerable. Meanwhile, the outlook for the PlayStation 5 business looks strong as Sony has gotten over any production problems related to the pandemic. The PS5 has now hit 46 million shipped.

Back in 2020 when the PS5 debuted, the pandemic created huge supply chain issues for Sony as well as Microsoft’s Xbox and the Nintendo Switch. Now the supplies are keeping up better as production has been restored. And so Sony increased its overall sales forecast for the year, now saying it will top 12.4 trillion yen, up from earlier forecasts of 12.2 trillion yen. Still, Sony’s stock is down 5% now.

Sony attributed improvement in its revenue forecast because it sees better days ahead for its game, music and imaging and sensing businesses.

The game and network services business, which makes the PS5 and PlayStation 4 consoles, is expected to see higher-than-expected sales. One of the company’s strong hits is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 game, which is exclusive to PS5.

The title sold more than 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours. That was a record breaker for PlayStation Studios in one day. Now Sony expects to hit its target of 25 million PS5 consoles shipped to retailers in 2023.

Sony reported its positive game results after Nintendo a couple of days ago that its sales got a boost from The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the May release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Overall, Sony’s Game & Network Services division reported fiscal Q2 revenues of 954.1 billion yen ($6.32 billion), up 32% from a year ago.

However, operating profit was a more modest 4.89 billion yen ($324 million), which is up 16% from a year ago, but below the previous years.

Sony shipped 4.9 million consoles during the three months ended September 30, up 48% compared to the same quarter last year. That’s a measure of the supply chain loosening up.