Sony said Tuesday that it will deliver higher operating profits, but lower net profits in the current financial year. Forecasts for its movies division were unchanged.
The company was making its annual forecasts that had been delayed by earthquakes in the Kumamoto region in April.
Sony now predicts that net profit for its 2016 fiscal year, which runs to March 2017, will total JPY80 billion ($727 million). That is down JPY67.8 billion ($616 million) or 46% from the year to March 2016. Operating profit will amount to JPY300 billion ($2.73 billion), up JPY5.8 billion ($52 million) or 2%.
The company estimates that the total negative impact on its operating profit will be JPY115 billion ($1.05 billion), with JPY10 billion ($91 million) offset by insurance.
The forecast for the ‘Pictures’ segment remains the same as the previously announced in April. Operating profit is expected to total JPY43 billion ($381 million), up JPY4.5 billion ($40 million) from the previous fiscal year. Divisional revenues are forecast to rise 8% to JPY1,010 billion ($8.9 billion), with strong ‘Media Networks’ sales a big contributor.
The ‘Games and Network Services’ segment is expected to enjoy gains in both sales and operating profit, spurred by strong demand for PlayStation4 software, hardware and network. Operating profit is forecast to rise by JPY46.3 billion ($410 million) to JPY135 billion ($1.19 billion).
