Written by Sam Nassey
TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp's third-quarter operating profit rose 10%, beating expectations, supported by strong performance in its finance, film and music businesses.
The group announced last year that it was considering a partial spin-off of its financial business and revealed plans to list Sony Financial Group in October 2025.
The Japanese company's October-December profit was 463.3 billion yen ($3.08 billion), beating the 428 billion yen average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by LSEG.
Sony, the inventor of the Walkman, has transformed into an entertainment and technology giant spanning movies, music, games, chips, and financial services.
Sony announced that 8.2 million PlayStation 5 units were sold in the third quarter, which falls during the important holiday shopping period.
Sales in the same period last year were 7.1 million units.
“Marvel's Spider-Man 2” was released on October 20th, and the company released a slim version of the game console starting in November.
Nintendo last week raised its full-year forecast for the Switch to 15.5 million units from the previous 15 million units as the Kyoto-based company seeks to extend the lifecycle of its aging console.
Xbox maker Microsoft plans to share an update on its gaming business on Thursday.
Last month, Sony withdrew its $10 billion plan to merge its India operations with Zee Entertainment, which would have created a television giant.
(1 dollar = 150.5400 yen)
(Reporting by Sam Nassey; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
