Sony reported on Wednesday that its profit in the third fiscal quarter ended at the end of December hit a record high, far exceeding market expectations, thanks to a boost from its PlayStation gaming business and financial services unit. However, the Japanese tech giant cut its gaming unit sales forecast for the full fiscal year due to weak hardware sales.
The company said its fiscal third-quarter operating profit was 463.3 billion yen, higher than analysts' average estimate of 428.4 billion yen. Revenue was 3.75 trillion yen, higher than analysts’ expectations of 3.58 trillion yen.
Sony's gaming business remains strong as users continue to buy its flagship PlayStation 5 product. The company sold 8.2 million PlayStation 5 units in its fiscal third quarter.
Sony's gaming business' revenue in the third fiscal quarter increased 16% year-on-year to 1.4 trillion yen. However, the segment's operating profit fell 26% as hardware losses increased due to promotions and lower first-party game sales.
Sony also lowered its gaming division's sales forecast for this fiscal year by 210 billion yen to 4.15 trillion yen, saying it expected hardware sales to decline.