Sony aims to sell 18 million PlayStation 5 consoles in its financial year ending March 2023.
Thiago Prudencio | Light rocket | Getty Images
Sony posted a record quarterly profit in the all-important December quarter that includes the holiday season thanks to a boost from its PlayStation gaming business and financial services unit.
Sony far exceeded analysts’ expectations in its fiscal third quarter.
However, the Japanese tech giant cut its sales forecast for its gaming division for the full fiscal year, citing declining hardware sales.
Here’s how Sony performed in the December quarter compared to LSEG consensus estimates:
- Income: 3.75 trillion Japanese yen ($24.9 billion) versus the expected 3.58 trillion yen
- Operating profit: 463.3 billion yen versus the expected 428.4 billion yen
Sony’s gaming business has remained strong, as users continue to purchase the PlayStation 5 flagship console. Sony sold 8.2 million units of its PlayStation 5 flagship console in the fiscal third quarter, which runs from October to December .
The company has previously said it aims to sell 25 million PS5 units in the fiscal year ending in March.
Sony’s gaming sales rose 16% year-on-year to 1.4 trillion yen in the December quarter. However, the division’s operating profit fell 26%, due to increased hardware losses due to promotions during the period, as well as declining sales of first-party games.
Sony also cut its gaming division’s fiscal year sales forecast by 210 billion yen to 4.15 trillion yen, saying it expected a decline in hardware sales.
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