Sharjah24 - AFP: Sony on Tuesday reported its best-ever sales in the financial year to March thanks to strong results in movies, electronics and music, while net profit dipped 14 percent from the previous year's record high.
A lockdown-fuelled gaming boom has slowed, but the Japanese giant has seen success in other entertainment sectors, with "Spider-Man: No Way Home" overtaking "Avatar" as North America's third-highest-grossing film.
Demand for sensors used in smartphone cameras has continued to soar, and Sony Music also scored a winner with Adele's latest album "30" and strong licence revenue in its popular anime business.
The conglomerate reported full-year sales for 2021-22 of 9.9 trillion yen ($76 billion) and net profit of 882 billion yen.
In 2020-21, Sony logged a record net profit of more than a trillion yen, partly thanks to tax gains and the explosion in popularity of video games during Covid-19 lockdowns.
The 10 percent increase in sales from 8.99 trillion yen in 2020-21 "was mainly due to significant increases in sales in the pictures, electronics products and solutions and music segments", Sony said.
Hideki Yasuda, senior analyst at Toyo Securities, said Sony would likely benefit from the fall of the yen, which has hit 20-year lows against the dollar this year.
He said the conglomerate is now succeeding in a broader range of sectors with favourable business environments, such as music and movies.
"Sony is really turning into a content company now, from its previous status as an electronics manufacturer."