TOKYO — Japanese technology and entertainment company Sony logged an 18% rise in profit for the fiscal year through March on healthy results at its music and video-game operations.
Its chief executive, Hiroki Totoki, outlined the company's strategy for growth Wednesday, stressing that collaboration among Sony Corp.'s various segments, like animation and music, were crucial to deliver the ''kando,'' or emotional engagement, that lies at the core of the company's vision and strength.
''Building on our momentum and results to date and working with a laser-like focus to realize our long-term Creative Entertainment Vision will be at the core of our corporate strategies moving forward,'' he told reporters.
Sony's movies division has strong offerings in the pipeline, including Spider-Man films and biopics about The Beatles, while animation remains a driver of growth centered around the popular anime streaming service Crunchyroll, Totoki said.
Tokyo-based Sony reported a record annual profit of 1.14 trillion yen ($7.8 billion), up from 970.6 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. Annual sales were virtually unchanged, inching down to 12.957 trillion yen ($88 billion) from 13.020 trillion yen.
One area that lagged among Sony's sprawling businesses was the financial segment, where revenue stalled. But its film division and its imaging and sensor solutions segment did well.
Sony officials said they were studying how to respond to President Donald Trump's tariffs, although that was a challenge because of uncertainties and constant changes. But they said the negative impact from U.S. trade policy will be kept to 10% of Sony's operating profit in the coming fiscal year by adjusting the allocation of shipments, among other measures.
Totoki stressed that Sony plans to leverage its content creating technology, like virtual reality and image sensors, to feed into its entertainment products, including working on immersive experiences. Sony also has powerful collaborative relations with various entertainment companies like Kadokawa, which includes publishing as well as films and animation, and Bandai Namco, a video game maker, he added.
