Investing.com -- Sony (TYO:6758) (NYSE:SONY) has predicted that it will post a 5% increase in operating income in its current financial year due in large part to a projected increase in sales of its imaging sensors.
The sprawling Japanese conglomerate has seen demand for its imaging sensors used in smartphones help offset sluggish performance in other sections of the group, including its key gaming unit.
Sales from Sony's imaging and sensing solutions division are predicted to jump to 1.84 trillion yen, up from 1.60 trillion yen in its 2023 fiscal period. Profit at the segment is expected to be bolstered as well by a decrease in expenses associated with the "mass production" of new sensors for mobile products, Sony said.
Lower hardware sales are forecast to dent top-line results at the company's game and network services business, which oversees Sony's PlayStation 5 console. However, the weak sales are anticipated to result in a dip in hardware losses, a trend that is projected to combine with strength at its PlayStation Plus subscription service to boost 2024 adjusted profits at the gaming business.
Elsewhere, sales and income are forecast to be "essentially" flat year-on-year at Sony's movie studios. The estimate comes as Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) are eyeing a possible takeover bid of Hollywood stalwart Paramount Global, a deal that would create an entertainment behemoth controlling around a fifth of the North American box office, Reuters has reported. Paramount is the owner of networks like MTV, Nickelodeon and CBS.
In the year ended on March 31, Sony posted a 7% slide in adjusted operating income to 1.18 trillion yen, roughly in line with its prior guidance, thanks to both a weaker Japanese yen as well as an uptick in streaming music demand.