Sony Pictures Entertainment has seen operating income fall nearly 10% for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.The company’s operating income was $808M in dollar terms compared with $894M for the comparable period a year before, which was down 9.6%. Revenues crept up to $10.31B from $10.14B for FY.Sony, which is headquartered in Japan, said the Hollywood strikes had impacted its Pictures segment, which comprises TV production, motion pictures and media networks (including streaming).Whereas in 2023 Sony had suffered from a lack of new theatrical product, this year the increased number and growth at streamer Crunchyroll helped to offset a decrease in series delivered due to the labor action and lower catalog licensing of motion pictures.On the motion pictures side, full-year revenues were $3.74B, up slightly on the previous year, but TV fell from nearly $4B to just over $3.8B. However, media networks grew from $2.69B to $2.72B.Sony’s biggest-grossing movies of the year were led by Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which took $691M, followed by Napoleon ($221M), Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell rom-com Anyone But You ($218M), The Equalizer 3 ($191M) and horror Insidious: The Red Door ($189M). Overall, 17 films released during the period.The year saw the launch of Netflix’s final season of the money-spinning royal drama The Crown, though Sony also delivered the likes of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind and Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time and Gen V, alongside its U.S. stables such as Jeopardy! and Shark Tank.In the fourth quarter, Sony Pictures’ profit was $208M, up 75% on the $119M posted last year. Sales edged up to $2.74B from $2.71B the previous year. Within that, motion pictures delivered $1.06B in sales, TV productions provided $961M and media networks $705M.Overall, Sony Group posted full year sales of 13 trillion yen, which is about $83B at current exchange rates.Sony execs kept quiet when questioned about the potential acquisition of Paramount during a results presentation, with Sony President, CFO & COO Hiroki Totoki saying only: “We have not made any announcement.”
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