Sony posts strong quarterly financial results, despite faltering mobile division

Sony just posted its latest quarterly results for 2015. The company’s net profit rose to ¥82.4 billion (roughly $664 USD), way above what any analysts expected. Sadly for Xperia fans however, this was all despite its smartphone sales, not because of them.

Sony’s strongest performing category was the PS4 division which saw a 12.1% increase in sales to ¥288.6 billion ($2.3 billion USD) after selling three million PS4 units, and increasing software and peripheral sales. Its other strong performer was the camera sensor division. Sony sells its mobile camera sensors to a number of companies, including Apple, Motorola and Samsung among many, many others. From camera sensor sales alone, Sony pulled in ¥237.9 billion ($2 billion USD).

What if I told you a decade ago that Sony's claim to fame would one day be cameras http://t.co/9AzVjUHhFf pic.twitter.com/1gndOg6GNr

— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) June 10, 2015

Sales across the company however are almost flat year-on-year, mostly thanks to the faltering smartphone sales. Sony’s mobile division saw sales drop 16.3%, but this isn’t entirely surprising. The once-popular manufacturer has openly stated that it will focus on a smaller group of handsets with healthy margins. Although this leads to less revenue in the short run, profit margins should increase in the long term, if the company balances the marketing strategies suitably.

Sales decreased 16.3% year-on-year (an 18% decrease on a constant currency basis) to 280.5 billion yen (2,299 million U.S. dollars). This decrease was due to a significant decrease in smartphone unit sales resulting from a strategic decision not to pursue scale in order to improve profitability

Sony also saw declines in its Sony Pictures’ sales and its home entertainment (TV and AV gear) division. They saw decreases of 11.9% and 13.8% respectively.