Japanese electronic equipment maker Sony Corp. (SNE) Thursday reported a more than seven-fold increase in third-quarter profit, helped by lower expenses and strong revenue growth in the Financial Services and Pictures businesses. The company lowered its loss forecast and confirmed sales and operating revenue outlook for the fiscal year ending March.
For the third quarter, net income attributable to Sony Corp shareholders was 79.17 billion yen or 78.76 yen per share, compared to 10.41 billion yen or 9.98 yen per share last year. In U.S. dollar basis, the company reported net income attributable to Sony Corp shareholders of US$861 million or US$0.86 per share for the quarter.
Sony's quarterly sales and operating revenue rose 3.9% to 2.24 trillion yen from 2.15 trillion yen in the same quarter last year. The company attributed the revenue growth to higher revenue in the Financial Services and Pictures segments, partially mitigated by a reduction in revenue in the Consumer Products & Devices segment. In terms of local currency, revenue grew 6% from last year.
On average, 3 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of US$0.07 per share on revenues of US$25.51 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
For the sequential second quarter, the company's net loss attributable to stockholders was 26.31 billion yen or US$292 million, or 26.22 yen per share. Second-quarter sales and operating revenue totaled 1.66 trillion yen.
Business segment wise, Sony's Consumer Products & Devices generated third-quarter sales and operating revenues of 969.8 billion yen, down 10.7% from 1.09 trillion yen a year ago. Sales to outside customers were down 8.4%. Products contributed to the sales decline include BRAVIA LCD televisions, system LSIs for the game business and optical pickups. Sales of these products were hurt by price competition and price declines.
Networked Products & Services reported third-quarter sales of 606.1 billion yen, up 1.9% from 594.9 billion yen a year ago, driven by higher sales of VAIO PCs in all regions. The results also reflected lower unit sales of PlayStation 2, or PS2, hardware and software and PlayStation Portable, or PSP, hardware.
In the quarter, the company sold about 6.5 million PS3 hardware units, up from about 4.5 million units in the prior-year quarter. The company also sold about 2.1 million PS2 units and around 4.2 PSP units in the quarter. These are comparable with year-ago quarter PS2 and PSP sales of 2.5 million and 5.1 million, respectively.
Further, Sony's B2B & Disc Manufacturing sales and operating revenue totaled 143.5 billion yen in the fourth quarter, a 0.5% drop from 144.3 billion yen in the previous year, reflecting lower sales of broadcast- and professional-use products.
Pictures' sales and operating revenue grew 16% in the third quarter to 203.2 billion yen from 175.1 billion yen in the prior-year quarter, driven by higher theatrical, home entertainment and television revenues.
Music generated sales and operating revenues of 163.5 billion yen, up 2% from 160.2 billion last year on the back of the strong sales of a number of key releases, which more than offset the continued decline in the physical music market.
Financial Services reported quarterly sales and operating revenues of 205.6 billion yen, an increase of 99.5% from 103.1 billion yen in the previous year. Revenue from insurance premiums also rose from last year, reflecting a steady rise in policy amount in force.
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, a joint venture between Sony and LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC), reported a net loss of EUR 159 million in the December quarter, compared to a net loss of EUR 183 million in the prior-year quarter. Sales and operating revenue declined 40% to EUR 1.75 billion from EUR 2.91 billion a year ago. Sony Ericsson attributed the sales decrease to lower unit sales due to a downturn in the global handset market and a faster-than-anticipated shift to touch screen phones in the mid-priced sector of the market. Sony recorded equity in net loss of Sony Ericsson of 10.2 billion yen in the quarter, an improvement of 1.2 billion yen from the prior-year quarter.
In the third quarter, Sony's selling, general and administrative expenses declined 12.9% to 402.44 billion yen. Equity in net loss of affiliated companies narrowed to 5.93 billion yen from 10.81 billion yen in the prior-year quarter. The company also had a higher gain of 2.27 billion yen from the sale of securities investments, compared with a gain of 365 million yen in the previous year. In addition, tax expenses declined 48.4% in the quarter to 33.24 billion yen.
For the nine-month period, Sony posted net income attributable to Sony Corp.'s stockholders of 15.77 billion yen, or US$171 million, or 15.69 yen per share, compared with 66.20 billion yen or 63.16 yen per share a year earlier. Sales and operating revenue declined 11.4% to 5.50 trillion yen or US$59.77 billion from 6.21 trillion yen in the previous year.
Sony's peer, Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (PHG) has reported a profit for the fourth quarter, driven by lower costs. The Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based company reported net income attributable to stockholders of EUR 251 million or EUR 0.27 per share, compared to a loss attributable to stockholders of EUR 1.17 billion or EUR 1.26 per share in the prior-year quarter. Philips' quarterly sales declined 5% to EUR 7.26 billion from EUR 7.62 billion in the previous year, reflecting the impact of negative currency translation and sales declines in all three business segments.
Another rival, Panasonic Corp. (PC) is set to release its third-quarter results on February 5.
For the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2010, Sony now projects net loss attributable to Sony Corporation shareholders of 70 billion yen, compared to a loss of 95 billion yen projected earlier and a loss of 98.9 billion yen recorded last year. The company continues to see full-year sales and operating revenue of 7.3 trillion yen, which represents a decline of 6% from 7.73 trillion yen reported in the previous fiscal year.
SNE closed Wednesday's trading at $34.94, down $0.47, on a volume of 983,400 shares.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.