Sony posts 10% profit rise in Q1 on image sensor strength

By Sam Nussey

TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony on Wednesday booked a 10% rise in operating profit in the April-June quarter, beating analyst estimates, boosted by the strength of its industry-leading image sensor business.

Profit at the Japanese tech and entertainment conglomerate was 279 billion yen ($1.90 billion), compared with an average estimate of 275 billion yen from seven analysts polled by LSEG.

The impact from foreign exchange and higher sales helped profit at the image sensor business, a major supplier for smartphone makers, roughly triple to 36.6 billion yen.

Sony (NYSE:) sold 2.4 million PlayStation 5 (PS5) units in the first quarter, fewer than a year earlier, but booked larger profit at the games business after higher first-party software sales.

The group said in May it expects to sell 18 million PS5 units this fiscal year, compared to 20.8 million a year earlier.

The games industry is grappling with rising costs and weak pricing power. Sony-owned developer Bungie announced last week it is cutting almost a fifth of its workforce.

Sony’s shares closed flat ahead of earnings.

Japanese shares have been buffeted by volatility in recent days with the market falling heavily before bouncing back.

($1 = 147.0100 yen)