Sony beat analyst estimates with a 38.8% increase in operating profit for the first quarter of 2015, but its pictures division incurred a $96M loss with no breakout hits released during the period.
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A file picture taken in Los Angeles, California on June 10, 2014 shows people testing the new Playstation TV consoles at the annual E3 video game extravaganza, where Microsoft and Sony are battling for the hearts of hardcore gamers. Sales were ¥1.81 trillion, roughly flat from ¥1.8 trillion a year earlier. The result comes after Sony last month announced its first capital raising in a quarter of a century, sending its shares tumbling. Sony has said it would use the funds to boost production of image sensors, which are now among Sony’s strongest-selling products. The company said a sharp fall in smartphone and mid-range LCD television sales was offset by foreign exchange gains and strong sales of image sensors, particularly for mobile devices.
Sony now relies less on consumer electronics as Kazuo Hirai has restructured the business.
“Sony’s position in the games market appears quite stable as its PS4 is generating profits”, said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute.
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More importantly, however, operating income from Sony’s seemingly out-of-place insurance business is a robust ¥46 billion, which together with the ¥19.5bn from games and ¥30.3bn from components forms the majority of Sony’s overall ¥96.9 billion ($784 million) operating income for the quarter.
