Things are definitely looking up for Japanese tech giant Sony. It is a widely known news that Sony’s smartphone business has almost crumbled. But in recent time, after some reorganisation, the tech giant launched new models that deviated from the traditional design style Sony is known for. The organisation seems to have started yielding some results. Sony has released its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2019 (October-December 2019) showing some improvement in sales.
Sony shipped 1.3 million smartphones during the period. That may not look like a spectacular feat especially when it is compared to what Huawei or Samsung achieved during the same period. Samsung and Huawei shipped 68.8 million and 56.0 million smartphones respectively in Q4. However, when compared to the 600,000 units Sony managed to ship in Q3, the result is impressive.
EDITOR’S PICK: How to unlock hidden game on Android 10?
Away from the smartphone business, Sony says demand for image sensors has been strong during the quarter. The financial report shows the profit from sensor business went up by 62 percent to 75.2 billion yen (~$684 million). Sony had earlier hinted that demand for its image sensors ave been overwhelming.
The Japanese tech giant’s gaming business did not record the same impressive result like the mobile phone and image sensor business. Sales of PlayStation 4 console declined during the quarter under review. This resulted in a fall in profit from 27 percent to 53.5 billion yen (~$487 million) during the period. This may be as a result of expectations that the Tokyo-headquartered company will replace the 4-year-old console with the PlayStation 5 very soon. The new console is expected to be released later this year.
Overall, Sony saw a 20 percent decline in profits in Q4 2019. The company’s operating profits dropped to 300 billion yen (around $2.73 billion) from 377 billion yen (~$3.43 billion) a year earlier. This is due to the acquisition of music publisher EMI. If not for that, the profit would have been up by about six percent. Further, Sony expects its annual operating profit to increase by about five percent to 880 billion yen (~$8.1 billion). However, the firm is concerned that the spread of the coronavirus may impact its global supply chain. Sony’s image sensor business would be hit severely if its clients suspend their assembly plants in China for a prolonged period.
“We can’t deny the possibility of the virus threat expanding to a scale large enough to wipe out our latest upward earnings revision,” said Hiroki Totoki, Chief Financial Officer at Sony.
UP NEXT: First Samples from the 108MP Mi Mix Alpha is here & we are not impressed!
(source)
