Sony movie division a key to profitable year
Sony Corp. swung to its first annual profit since 2008, aided in part by its movie studio.
The company posted annual net income of $458 million for the fiscal year ended March 31. Last year, the company lost $456.7 million.
A big part of the Tokyo-based company’s success was studio Sony Pictures Entertainment -- in addition to real estate sales, job cuts and currency weakness in Japan.
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Sony Pictures posted operating income of $509 million, up 40% from a year earlier. Sony attributed the improvement in part to blockbusters “Skyfall” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
“Skyfall,” the latest James Bond film, grossed $1.1 billion worldwide and had a domestic take of $304 million. The latest “Spider-Man” took in $752 million worldwide. Those films offset the studio’s disappointing sci-fi remake “Total Recall,” which grossed $198 million worldwide.
A weak yen also helped Sony Pictures, the company said. Profits become enlarged when foreign currency -- like the U.S. dollar -- is returned to Japan and converted to local coin.
Sony Pictures, which also includes television production and home entertainment groups, is led by Michael Lynton, who is chairman and chief executive of the division, and co-chairwoman Amy Pascal. Lynton, also chief executive of Sony Entertainment Inc., renewed his contract with the company in April.
The company said that the studio also benefited from higher home entertainment revenue from U.S. cable television programming.
Sony, however, struggled in the electronics business, where it for years has ceded ground to competitors including Apple and Samsung.
Sony’s Home Entertainment & Sound unit, which includes televisions and Blu-ray players, posted an operating loss of $897 million. Sony television sales were down 31% on a year-over-year basis. The company’s mobile products group, which includes smartphones, had an operating loss of $1.03 billion.
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