Sony Forecasts Record Annual Operating Profit

Tokyo, Nov. 11 (Jiji Press)–Sony Group Corp. said Tuesday that it expects to log a record operating profit in the fiscal year ending next March, reflecting strong performances in its semiconductor and music operations. The Japanese company raised its consolidated operating profit forecast from 1.33 trillion yen to 1.43 trillion yen. It also lifted its net profit forecast from 970 billion yen to 1.05 trillion yen. The brighter projections come as Sony now expects U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs to cost it 50 billion yen, down from 70 billion yen as estimated previously. Also, the latest animation film in the “Demon Slayer” series, produced by Aniplex Inc., a Sony subsidiary, became a hit in Japan and overseas. Sony also raised its sales forecast from 11.7 trillion yen to 12 trillion yen. Both sales and operating profit in the company’s music business, including those of the Demon Slayer film, will far exceed previous estimates. Sony Group Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao told a news conference that the animation film performed better than expected due chiefly to its success in overseas markets. The impact of the U.S. tariffs is expected to be 30 billion yen for the game business and 20 billion yen for the electronics business. On the other hand, the company does not expect the initially anticipated negative impact on the semiconductor business based on customer trends. For the first half through September, Sony posted higher sales and profits, excluding financial services, as it spun off its Sony Financial Group Inc. unit last month. Sony’s net profit rose 13.7 pct from a year earlier to 570.4 billion yen thanks to robust performances in its game, music and semiconductor businesses. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]