In 2023, Sony's full-year operating profit reached 1.2 trillion yen, marking a 7% decline compared to the previous year. Despite efforts, Sony fell just short of its adjusted PlayStation 5 sales target, shipping a total of 20.8 million units during the fiscal year.
On Tuesday, Sony announced a 7% decrease in yearly profits for the fiscal year 2023, primarily due to a downturn in its financial services sector. Additionally, the company came close but fell short of its projection for sales of its flagship gaming console, the PlayStation 5, throughout the entire year.
In the March quarter, Sony exceeded LSEG consensus estimates with revenue totaling 3.5 trillion yen ($22.4 billion), compared to the expected 2.89 trillion yen. This represents a 14% increase year-over-year but marks the first decline since Sony's September 2020 quarter, as per LSEG data. Operating profit for the quarter reached 229.4 billion yen, slightly below the expected 236.81 billion yen but still reflecting a 57% jump compared to the previous year.
For the full year 2023, Sony reported revenue of 13 trillion yen, marking a 19% year-over-year increase. However, operating profit for the year decreased by 7% to 1.2 trillion yen.
Despite efforts, Sony narrowly missed its revised-down target for PlayStation 5 sales, with 20.8 million units sold in fiscal year 2023. This falls short of the revised target of 21 million units set in February, previously projected at 25 million units for the year. Looking ahead, Sony anticipates weaker sales, projecting 18 million units of PlayStation 5 to be sold by March 2025.
Sony attributed the decline in profit primarily to its financial services segment, which saw operating income drop by 22.5% year-on-year to 173.6 billion yen in 2023. Additionally, its imaging and sensing solutions business experienced a 9% decrease in operating income, totaling 193.5 billion yen.
Looking forward, Sony forecasts a 5% decrease in overall group revenue for the current fiscal year, expecting sales to reach 12.3 trillion yen by March 2025. Operating income for fiscal year 2024 is projected to increase by 5% to 1.28 trillion yen, according to Sony's consolidated results.
Source: CNBC