Japan’s Sony reports declining profit but expects a record for this year

Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Group Corp. reported a 3.4% drop in its annual profit but projected a comeback to record profits for the current fiscal year. Tokyo-based Sony’s net profit for the year through March totaled 1.03 trillion yen ($6.6 billion), down from 1.07 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. Ending a plan to release an electric vehicle with Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. hurt its earnings. Rising costs of computer chips also bit into profit and remain a concern, according to Sony, which has film, music, and video game operations. Sony is forecasting a 1.16 trillion yen ($7.4 billion) profit for this fiscal year, which would be a record for the company and a 13% jump from the year that just ended. Annual sales at Sony for the fiscal year that just ended rose 3.7% from the previous year to nearly 12.5 trillion yen, boosted by hit films such as the latest in the Demon Slayer series and Kokuho, and by healthy demand for games and network services. On a quarterly basis, profit at Sony, which is behind the Bravia and PlayStation brands and the “Spider-Man” movies, fell 63% to 83 billion yen ($529 million) from 224 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. Quarterly sales edged up 8% to 3 trillion yen ($19 billion), said the company, whose musical artists include Bad Bunny and SZA. Sony is counting on healthy sales from its upcoming films, such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Jumanji: Open World, to boost its bottom line for the current fiscal year. Also, Sony said it would spend up to 500 billion yen ($3.2 billion) to buy back up to 230 million shares. Sony stock, which has been trading at about 3,000 yen ($19) lately, gained 1%. This article was provided by The Associated Press.