TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Sony Corp raised its earnings outlook and reported a bounce in first-quarter working revenue on Wednesday as pandemic-led demand boosted gross sales of PlayStation 5 consoles, TVs, cameras, music and films.
Working revenue for the quarter ended June 30 rose to 280.1 billion yen ($2.57 billion) from 221.7 billion yen a 12 months earlier, higher than the 207.96 billion yen common prediction from 10 analysts, in response to Refinitiv.
It raised its revenue forecast for the 12 months via March 2022 to 980 billion yen from 930 billion yen, bringing it nearer to a mean estimate 1 billion yen estimate from 25 analysts.
Sony has benefited from robust demand for its PlayStation 5 video games console as individuals keep residence, though a scarcity of semiconductors, which can also be affecting the likes of Apple , means it can not produce sufficient consoles to satisfy demand.
Sony in Might mentioned it anticipated to promote 14.8 million PS5 models within the fiscal 12 months ending March 2022. Launched in core markets in November 2020, the console, which sells for as a lot as $500, shortly bought out.
Sony sees the sport console as a strategy to join its conventional shopper electronics with its rising content material enterprise by encouraging on-line recreation downloads and sign-ups for subscription companies.
Because it streamlines its shopper electronics enterprise, Sony is beefing up its leisure content material and distribution enterprise. In December it agreed to purchase AT&T Inc’s animation enterprise Crunchyroll with 3 million subscribers worldwide.
Sony additionally provides films on Walt Disney Co streaming service and on Netflix .
In Might, the corporate indicated that it could proceed to broaden its content material enterprise via acquisition when it mentioned it could spend 2 trillion yen over the subsequent three years on strategic investments, together with a push to broaden subscribers to its gaming and leisure companies.
($1 = 109.0400 yen)
Reporting by Tim Kelly; Enhancing by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates
: