After falling quarterly profit, company bets on Snoopy and financial breakup to recover market value
Sony released its balance sheet for the last financial quarter, and even made a good profit: 83.12 billion yen (R$ 2.82 billion). It turns out that things got much worse, as the money pocketed by the company was 63% lower than in the previous period. The result, released this Friday (8), frustrated analysts’ projections and has two very clear culprits: the electric vehicle division and PlayStation.
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One of the central factors for the negative balance was the loss at Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture focused on the development of electric cars that canceled the project of the first of them, the Afeela 1. The operation recorded a loss of 44.9 billion yen (R$ 1.52 billion), reflecting high investment costs and the interruption of plans.
At the same time, the PlayStation 5 faces a saturation phase in its life cycle, with high costs of components, such as memory chips, which compress operating margins. Despite the drop in profit, quarterly revenue advanced 8.3% to 3.03 trillion yen (R$103.22 billion). The growth in revenue, however, was not enough to compensate for the increase in production expenses and the deficit investments in new technology fronts.
To mitigate the 22% devaluation of its shares in the last year, Sony has intensified a strategic shift towards pure entertainment. The group confirmed the acquisition of 80% of the owner of the Peanuts brand (Snoopy) for US$ 460 million, aiming to strengthen its copyright portfolio. The company also plans to spin off its financial services arm to focus resources on music, film and imaging technology.
The projection for the fiscal year that begins is for recovery. The company estimates a 12.5% increase in net income, anchored in cost adjustment and the monetization of its intellectual property. The success of the goal will depend on the group’s ability to balance the ambitious mobility project with maintaining leadership in the gaming sector.
