Sony aims to sell 18M PS5 units despite supply risks

Sony Group Corp. announced on Tuesday that it plans to sell 18.00 million PlayStation 5 consoles this fiscal year.

The conglomerate corporation cited that the robust game sales bolstered its fourth-quarter operating profit. This forecast is despite the persisting risks offered by Chinese lockdowns.

Accordingly, the Japanese company warned that it could revise the production target if Beijing had tighter health restrictions. It noted that the lockdowns would make component procurement difficult.

Sony currently uses its popular PlayStation 5 games console to encourage online game downloads and sign-ups for subscription services.

In 2021, it sold 11.50 million units as it grappled like other consumer electronic companies with supply chain disruptions.

The firm also expanded its software business, announcing the acquisition of Bungle Inc. in February. The media giant purchased the creator for $3.60 million, which is popular for the “Halo” video game.

Subsequently, its profit for the three months to March 31 increased to $1.06 billion. The figure edged up from the $510.70 million a year earlier. It specifically received a boost from its movie unit profits from the success of the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” movie.

However, the result was still lower than the average market estimate of $1.13 billion. Nevertheless, earnings at its gaming and network services business almost tripled in the quarter to $427.04 million.

For the fiscal year, Sony expects profits from the unit to skid 12.00%. The company noted its investments in game development and acquisitions.

It anticipated an operating profit in the range of $8.91 billion from $9.21 billion. Accordingly, that prediction is lower than the forecasted $9.29 billion.

Sony plans stock buyback

On the same day, Sony announced to buy back about $1.50 billion of its own shares. The entertainment group said it would repurchase as many as 25.00 million stocks over the next year. This target represented about 2.02% of the total outstanding of the firm.

At the same time, the company announced a $1.54 billion buyback program a year earlier as it reported results.

Shares of Sony closed 3.14% or 2.61 points lower to $80.64 per share today. This downward movement slashed $3.33 billion from its market capitalization.

In June, the business also said that it would roll out new online services for PlayStation users. This offer includes an option similar to Xbox’s Game Pass subscription.