Sony hikes forecasts on strong music business

Sony Group on Wednesday upgraded its annual sales and net profit forecasts, driven by strength in its music business and favourable foreign exchange rates.The Japanese electronics-to-entertainment conglomerate said its annual net profit for the year to March 2024 should reach 860 billion yen ($6.0 billion), up from a previous estimate of 840 billion yen.The overall sales forecast was upgraded to 12.2 trillion yen from 11.5 trillion yen.The company said it expected to see stronger game software sales and lower costs for its game segment, while favourable foreign exchange moves were seen boosting sales in a wide range of its business fields, including games, music and movies.But falling profitability of PlayStation hardware was driving down profits, the company added.Sony's music segment was seen enjoying both stronger sales and a one-off accounting gain related to a subsidiary, the company said.The movies segment suffered pressure from the ongoing Hollywood strikes, although strong performance during the three months to June and foreign exchange moves supported the segment overall, it said.For three months to June, the company said its net profit fell 16.7 percent to 217.9 billion yen, as losses in the financial and movies businesses overwhelmed strong gains on the music side.Its quarterly sales rose 32.9 percent to 2.96 trillion yen.It sold 3.3 million units of PlayStation 5 consoles during the three months to June, up from 2.4 million units sold in the same period of last year.