Sony Q1 results see declining PlayStation sales offset by weak yen
Sony profitable fiscal 2012 continued into the first quarter of 2013, the company posting a net profit of ¥3.5 billion, which converts to $35 million, for the three months ending in June. The company's modest Q1 profit came on the back of a 13 percent year-on-year rise in revenue, attributed largely to currency exchange gains due to the depreciating yen; on a "constant currency basis," as Sony noted, Q1 revenue saw a year-on-year dip of 3 percent.
Despite the gains on the yen's value, Sony's PlayStation division saw almost zero change in its year-on-year revenue in the first quarter, this due to declining PlayStation hardware sales. The company shipped 1.1 million PS3 units and 0.6 million Vita and PSP units in the three months of Q1, compared to 3.5 million PS3 and PS2 units and 1.6 million portable units for the corresponding period of fiscal 2012. Sony still forecasts it'll ship 10 million PS3 units across the fiscal year ending in March 2014, and 5 million Vita and PSP units.
Research & development on Sony's upcoming console was primarily responsible for a marked increase in the PlayStation division's operating losses, rising to ¥14.8 billion in Q1, or $149 million. The company again declined to post projections for the PlayStation 4, due to launch sometime this holiday.
