Sony Jumps Most in Three Months After Hiking PlayStation Outlook
(Bloomberg) -- Sony Group Corp. jumped more than 5% in Friday morning trade — the most in almost three months — after it lifted its full-year profit outlook on record PlayStation 5 console sales.
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The Tokyo-based group raised its PS5 sales forecast to 19 million units for the fiscal year ending March, after selling 7.1 million units — a high for the two-year-old console — over the holiday quarter.
Momentum for building out the PS5 ecosystem is growing, Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki said on a call after the earnings Thursday.
Sony Raises Outlook on Strong PlayStation 5 Momentum
Chip supply issues that had bogged down PlayStation 5 console sales since its launch in 2020 have eased, the company said earlier this week. Improving supply of the console coincides with Sony’s release of God of War Ragnarok, the latest installment of the popular franchise.
Sony also hiked its operating profit forecast to ¥1.18 trillion ($9.2 billion) from ¥1.16 trillion. The key games division, aided by the tailwind of favorable exchange rates, nudged expectations higher. Sony said it now sees slightly lower revenue for the year than previously.
The company, which supplies camera sensors used in Apple Inc.’s iPhones, said operating profit was ¥429 billion in October-December, above the average analyst expectation of ¥369 billion. Sales were ¥3.4 trillion.
Totoki, the veteran CFO who has led Sony’s earnings briefings for years, will oversee its global operations, taking up the positions of president and chief operating officer from April 1, the company said earlier.
Read more: Sony to Promote Veteran CFO to Oversee Global Operations
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