Sony falls most in a year on warning over smartphone demand
SONY Group’s shares plunged after the electronics and entertainment group warned about delays in a smartphone market recovery and gave a financial outlook that missed expectations.
Sony’s stock price dropped as much as 6.7 per cent during Thursday (Aug 10) morning trade in Tokyo, the biggest intraday fall in a year.
Sony, a key supplier of image sensors to Apple and other device makers, said it didn’t expect demand in the mobile phone market to bounce back until next year at the earliest. Sony had earlier said it expected a second-half rebound in global phone sales.
The Tokyo-based company’s operating income fell 31 per cent in the first fiscal quarter because of sharp declines in the movie and sensor groups. Net income dropped 17 per cent even as revenue rose 33 per cent.
“Earnings collapsed in movies and semiconductors,” Citigroup analyst Kota Ezawa wrote in a note to investors.
Sony nudged up its net income forecast by 2 per cent to 860 billion yen (S$8 billion) for the fiscal year, closer to but still missing analyst estimates, despite a lift from a weaker yen.
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Sony cut its outlook on its image sensors and its movies divisions. A recovery in China’s smartphone market is taking longer than expected, and demand is worsening in the US, it said.
The Japanese company also reported weaker-than-expected sales for its flagship PlayStation 5 during the April-June quarter, igniting concern the company will need to spend more on marketing to achieve its goal of selling 25 million units this fiscal year.
“All eyes are now on how Sony can grow PlayStation subscriber numbers and the release of Spider Man in the fall. That game absolutely has to deliver in order to carry Sony through the holidays and into 2024,” said industry analyst Serkan Toto.
Sony has been beefing up its content offerings in recent years, though the biggest hits of the summer have come from its rivals – from Activision Blizzard’s Diablo IV to Warner Bros Pictures’ Barbie, a film that Sony previously held the rights to.
The company expects growth in its content businesses over the mid-and long-term growth on its content businesses, but uncertainties are growing over the short term on geopolitical and macroeconomic risks, Sony’s chief operating officer Hiroki Totoki said.
Sony’s stock had climbed 29 per cent this year through Wednesday. It’s still up more than 20 per cent after Thursday’s fall. BLOOMBERG
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