Sony Group Corp. raised its profit outlook after a string of entertainment hits propelled better-than-expected results in the September quarter.
The Tokyo-based company now expects ¥1.87 trillion ($11.8 billion) in operating income for the year through March, raising its guidance by 15% on Thursday. Its operating profit in the July-September period was ¥622.3 billion, comfortably beating the average analyst expectation. Revenue was ¥3.43 trillion, also higher than estimates.
The latest entry in one of Sony’s key franchises, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, was a major highlight in the quarter alongside Marvel’s Wolverine for the PlayStation 5. Michael Jackson’s music catalog drew strong streaming demand, helped by the film about the pop star. They showed Sony’s strategic pivot toward a more asset-light and content-focused approach paying off at a time of high component costs hampering hardware makers.
“The PS5 is already in the late stage of its life cycle, so Sony is in the fortunate position of not having to push hardware sales at any cost,” said Hideki Yasuda of Toyo Research and Advice Co. “Today’s results clearly show the payoff from Sony’s aggressive investment in content over the past several years, across movies, games and music. When Sony was more hardware-driven, its earnings were much more volatile.”
Sony’s shares rose 7% in Tokyo on Thursday before company released its results.