Sony Q1 Profit Soars

Sony Corporation posted a spike in first-quarter operating income, which reached 157.6 billion yen ($1.43 billion), up 180.5 percent.

Net income rose 282.1 percent to 80.9 billion yen ($734 million). Sales increased by 15.2 percent compared to the year-ago period to 1.9 trillion yen ($17.2 billion).

In the Game & Network Services segment, sales increased 5.4 percent year-on-year to 348.1 billion yen ($3.15 billion), primarily due to an increase in PlayStation 4 software sales, as well as the contribution of PlayStation VR.

Sony Pictures Entertainment saw sales increase 12.3 percent year-on-year to 205.8 billion yen ($1.9 billion). The increase in sales on a U.S. dollar basis was primarily due to higher sales in Television Productions and Media Networks, partially offset by lower sales in Motion Pictures. Television Productions sales increased significantly, primarily due to higher licensing revenue for U.S. series such as The Last Tycoon and Better Call Saul. Operating loss decreased 1.1 billion yen ($9.9 million) year-on-year to 9.5 billion yen ($86 million).