Newscasts - Sony beats forecasts, but warns of tariff storm ahead
14/05/2025 07:51
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_57mszcvk&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW399514052025RP1_930&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - Business videos' Description: Sony said on Wednesday it expects operating profit to rise 0.3% to 1.28 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) in the financial year ending in March, after factoring in a 100 billion yen hit from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Julian Satterthwaite reports. Short Link: https://refini.tv/3S4Wdlx Video Transcript: Sony zoomed past analysts’ forecasts for the full year, sending its shares 2% higher on Wednesday. Operating profit jumped 16% over the period. But the Japanese giant is expecting tougher times ahead, largely thanks to Donald Trump's global trade war. Sony has factored in a hit to profits of around $680 million over the coming year as a result. Though that calculation does not take into account this week's US-China deal on trade. And the firm says the actual impact of tariffs could vary by a wide margin. Over the years, Sony has evolved from a maker of consumer gadgetry to an entertainment and tech behemoth spanning games, movies, music, and chips. President Hiroki Totoki has recently strengthened his grip on the firm, taking the CEO role last month. He's preparing Sony for a partial spinoff of its financial unit as it seeks to focus on entertainment. Sales of Sony's PlayStation 5 games console plunged by more than a third over the latest quarter, dropping to 2.8 million units. Operating profit at the gaming division also saw a sharp drop, but Sony expects a recovery for the unit this year on bets it will see higher sales of its own games. That's despite disappointment over a delay for long-awaited blockbuster titled "Grand Theft Auto VI" from third-party publisher Take-Two Interactive. The launch of that game has been put back to May next year.