Sony posts Q1 profit jump on pandemic demand for devices and content

Sony Corp raised its earnings outlook and reported a jump in first-quarter operating profit on Wednesday as pandemic-led demand boosted sales of PlayStation 5 consoles, TVs, cameras, music and movies. Operating profit for the quarter ended June 30 rose to 280.1 billion yen ($2.57 billion) from 221.7 billion yen a year earlier, better than the 207.96 billion yen average prediction from 10 analysts, according to Refinitiv. It raised its profit forecast for the year through March 2022 to 980 billion yen from 930 billion yen, bringing it closer to an average estimate 1 billion yen estimate from 25 analysts.

Sony has benefited from strong demand for its PlayStation 5 games console as people stay home, although a shortage of semiconductors, which is also affecting the likes of Apple, means it cannot produce enough consoles to meet demand.