Sony Reports Significant Fall In Q2 Movie Revenues As Company Delivers A Profit

The new report should provide more fodder for the campaign by hedge fund titan Daniel Loeb to revamp Sony’s entertainment operations. With disappointing results from After Earth and a drop in home video sales, Sony says today that the studio’s revenues “decreased significantly” in Q2. The results are complicated, though. When you factor in currency exchange rates, a $106M gain from the sale of Sony Pictures’ music catalog, and higher TV ad sales in India, the Pictures unit’s revenues increased 3.6% vs the period last year to $1.6B with operating income of $38M, up from a loss. Sony’s music operation did better with help from releases including Pink’s The Truth About Love and Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience. Its sales improved 13.3% to $1.1B with operating income +48.1% to $109M. Despite the weak movie numbers, investors pushed Sony shares up 3.6% in pre-market trading as the electronics company generated a $35M profit, reversing a loss in last year’s quarter, on revenues of $17.3B, +13%. Smartphone sales were up, and the financial services operation did well — although R&D expenses for the upcoming PlayStation 4 contributed to an operating loss for the Game segment.