Sony’s financial results for the three months to June 30th 2011 are not pretty. The company’s execs will however be able to take some comfort from the fact that despite a decline in sales due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the depressed global market for consumer electronics they have managed to record an operating income rather than a loss.
Sony’s Q1 FY2011 operating income is ¥27.5 billion ($240m) which is down just under 60% on the figures that they recorded at this time last year. While foreign exchange rates are still working against Sony the situation is improving. Had the exchange rates still been what they were a year ago Sony’s operating income would have been down 72%.
Sony puts the cost to them of the earthquake at ¥5.3bn ($66m) for the quarter, the bulk of those being for the repair, removal and cleaning of buildings, machinery and equipment as well as the stock stored in their factories and warehouses. The good news for Sony, though not for their insurers, is that they consider it “probable” that their insurance and “provision for insurance policy reserves” will cover the bulk of those costs.
Sony Got Game?
Sony’s Game business has been moved around in the company’s latest reorganisation. Formerly collected together with PC sales in the Networked Products and Services (NPS) segment, it is now part of the Consumer Products and Services (CPS) segment which includes TVs, digital cameras and home audio and cinema products.
The CPS segment has recorded an operating income of ¥1.7bn ($21m) down over 94% from ¥28.5bn a year ago. The improvement in exchange rates has saved that from becoming a ¥9.3bn loss. The substantial fall in income is primarily due to a drop in revenue from LCD TVs as sales fell and margins shrank.
Sales in Sony’s Game business itself fell to ¥125,253m ($1,546m) down almost 12% from Q1 FY2010. They do not report operating income/loss at the business unit level. While Game business sales are down, it was the smallest fall among the various component parts of the CPS segment.
Your Unit Sales Figures Are Here
Of course few, if any, of you care about those financial figures you simply want to know how many PlayStations Sony managed to sell in the last quarter. The venerable PS2 acquitted itself well recording sales of 1.4m units against 1.6m a year ago, down about 12%. PS2 software unit sales fell about 55% though.
The PSP continued to record strong sales as it sold another 1.8m which is up 50% from last year’s 1.2m. PSP software sales fell almost 30%.
PlayStation 3 software sales bucked the trend and grew 5% to 26.1m units for the quarter. PS3 hardware sales did not fare so well. They fell 25% to 1.8m compared to 2.4m last year. Though that is still more (just) than the 1.7m Xbox 360 sales during the same three months…
tonycawley
I find it really difficult to believe that the PS2 still sells that many, nearly as many as the PSP and nearly as many as that PS3. Not saying the figures are wrong, just that I struggle to believe it.
Good to see PS3 game sales inreasing over this time last year too, I hope that trend continues through to the end of the year.
Mason_Mk
i brought a PS2 this year, just to visit so many good games again. The strong library of games it had are still a blast to play today, and so that probably drives quite a few sales, as well as the fact that it’s probably a good little console to sit in a childs bedroom aside from the wii.
david24
I think its mainly in Asia where its selling most of those. and as its now so cheap and has a massive amount of great games for it, why not? I still dust off mine occasionally.
Porcupine_I
i believe that Sony started distributing the PS2 in markets that didn’t have it before, like Brazil just recently
Rad4Life
Correct. We must remember that a big world exists outside EuroAsiaAmerica. Many countries are just now getting the PS2. I love Sony for continuing to support it and wish all the new owners of a PS2 years of the same fun I had.
Mason_Mk
So, gaming consoles as a whole sales are on a decline?
skibadee
they will pull it back next year they had a lot of shit this year software up is a god sign as well.
skibadee
good^
cc_star
“They do not report operating income/loss at the business unit level.”
Fortunate for games division it keeps getting moved around then practically every year.
Spotter5
Surely this has to do with the royal wedding and hot weather right? /excuses
skibadee
earthquake PSN hack seem like real things to me.
Smallville2106
They will have a great year next year with the Vita and continued growth of PS3.
cc_star
Continued?
PS3 was down 25%
It’s got some work to do just to get to where it was the year before, nevermind grow on that.
cc_star
Oops pressed submit too soon
On the plus side though it moved ahead of its rival so Sony is outperforming the market slightly, although as that market is shrinking it’s not actually good news.
colmshan1990
I get confused.
Is the market shrinking, or is the rate the market is growing shrinking?
Unless there’s less gamers, surely the market has expanded…
Either way though, not as good a year for the big three. More work needed.
TSBonyman
Too many eggs in too many baskets perhaps.
Anyway, whereas PS3 was previously held partially responsible for their losses last year, it’s good to see it’s holding it’s own against the competition.
Kaminari
Of course Sony prefer to cover their butts behind the earthquake instead of the PSN fiasco (which, surprise, happened in April). But the market is thankfully not driven by blind fanboys anymore.