MUMBAI: For last fiscal year, Sony reported revenue of $86.5 billion, down slightly from the previous year, and a net loss of $3.1 billion. The loss was attributed to the $4.4 billion in tax credits that the company deferred because of losses caused by the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March.
The company’s movie arm Sony Pictures saw a drop of approximately 8% in revenues for the recently ended fiscal year. Sales decreased 14.9% year-on-year (an 8% decrease on a U.S. dollar basis) to $7.2 billion, primarily due to lower motion picture revenues and the appreciation of the yen against the US dollar.
While the current year benefitted from the strong performances of The Karate Kid, Grown Ups and Salt, international theatrical and worldwide home entertainment revenues declined significantly in comparison to the previous fiscal year, which included 2012, Angels & Demons and Michael Jackson’s This Is It.
However, the underperformance of James L. Brooks-directed romantic comedy How Do You Know, which was released in December, was a major blow to the studio’s bottom line.
On a US dollar basis, television revenues increased due to higher subscription and advertising revenues from a number of international channels and higher US revenues from cable and syndication programming.
Sony Pictures’ TV business improved due to higher revenue from its international channels and the shows that it produces, which are distributed on cable through syndication to local stations.
The studio’s home entertainment revenue also saw a decline. On the other hand, Sony Music’s revenue dropped 5% to $5.7 billion due to the decline in the CD market.
The company said that the revenue for its current year would increase 6.6% to $92.2 billion and it expects net income of $983 million.
