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SONY Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Increase Y/Y

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Sony Group Corporation (SONY - Free Report) reported healthy third-quarter fiscal 2021 results, wherein both the bottom line and top line beat their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Net Income

On a GAAP basis, net income in the quarter increased 11.4% year over year to ¥346.2 billion ($3,046.6 million) or ¥276.65 ($2.43) per share. The improvement was mainly due to year-over-year top-line growth. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 87 cents.

Adjusted net income came in at ¥293.2 billion compared with ¥291.1 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Sony Group Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Sony Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Revenues

Quarterly total revenues increased 12.5% year over year to ¥3,031.3 billion ($26,678.6 million). The rise was driven by an increase in Music, Pictures, Imaging & Sensing Solutions and Financial Services segments sales. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate of $26,008 million.

Segment Results

Game & Network Services (G&NS) sales fell 7.9% year over year to ¥813.3 billion, due to a decline in hardware sales, decrease in sales of non-first-party titles, including add-on content and weak sales of first-party titles. However, it was partly offset by the positive impact of foreign exchange rates. The segment’s operating income was ¥92.9 billion compared with ¥80.8 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Music sales increased 11.9% year over year to ¥295.9 billion, driven by higher sales of recorded music and music publishing, an increase in revenues from paid subscription streaming services and a rise in revenues from advertising-supported streaming services. The positive impact of foreign exchange rates was a tailwind as well. Operating income was ¥55.1 billion, which declined from ¥59.1 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Pictures sales surged 141.3% year over year to ¥461.2 billion. This was driven by higher sales of television productions, motion pictures and media networks from the Crunchyroll acquisition. Operating income was ¥149.4 billion compared with ¥20.3 billion a year ago.

Electronics Products & Solutions (EP&S) sales came in at ¥686.9 billion, down 1.7% year over year, due to a decrease in sales of audio and video, smartphones and digital cameras. However, this was partly offset by the positive impact of foreign exchange rates. Operating income was ¥80 billion compared with ¥103.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Imaging & Sensing Solutions sales were up 21.6% year over year to ¥324.8 billion due to an increase in sales of image sensors for mobile products, improvement in the product mix and foreign exchange gains. Operating income was ¥64.7 billion compared with ¥51.4 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Financial Services sales were up 11.4% year over year to ¥471.3 billion, which reflects an increase in revenues at Sony Life along with a rise in net gains on investments in the separate accounts. Operating income was ¥35.2 billion compared with ¥39.9 billion in the year-ago quarter.

All Other sales were down 17.3% to ¥27.4 billion. Operating income was ¥8.2 billion compared with ¥7 billion a year ago.

Other Details

Total expenses were ¥2,573.6 billion, up 9.7% year over year. Operating income was ¥465.2 billion, up 32.2%.

Cash Flow & Liquidity

During the first nine months of fiscal 2021, Sony generated ¥808.6 billion of cash from operating activities compared with ¥959.4 billion in the prior-year period.

As of Dec 31, 2021, the company had ¥1,822.6 billion ($15,834.6 million) in cash and cash equivalents with ¥971.6 billion ($8,440.9 million) of long-term debt.

FY21 Outlook

Sony has provided the outlook for the fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2022. It expects sales of ¥9,900 billion, unchanged from the October forecast. Operating income is projected to be ¥1,200 billion, increasing from ¥1,040 billion. Net income is estimated to be ¥860 billion, up from ¥730 billion.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Sony currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader industry are GoPro, Inc. (GPRO - Free Report) , PlayAGS, Inc. (AGS - Free Report) and Fox Corporation (FOXA - Free Report) . While GoPro sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), PlayAGS and Fox Corporation carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GoPro’s next-year earnings has been revised 1.2% upward over the past 60 days.

GoPro delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 90%, on average. It has returned 2.6% in the past three months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current year for PlayAGS has been narrowed from a loss of 51 cents per share to a loss of 50 cents over the past 60 days.

PlayAGS delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.3%, on average. AGS shares have gained 39% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fox Corporation’s current-year earnings has been revised 1.1% upward over the past 60 days.

Fox Corporation delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 81.1%, on average. The stock has gained 33.2% in the past year. FOXA has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8.8%.

Conversion rate used:

¥1 = $0.008801 (period average from Oct 1, 2021 to Dec 31, 2021)

¥1 = $0.008688 (as of Dec 31, 2021)


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