Spidey was Sony’s financial superhero in 2021: The final three months of 2021 brought Sony’s pictures division net profits of $1.3 billion for the last three months of 2021 due to theatrical releasing, including the blockbuster movie “Spider Man: No Way Home.”
The $1.31 billion figure exceeds profits of $194 million for the same quarter in 2020.
In a presentation of financial results Tuesday night Pacific Time and on Wednesday in Tokyo, Sony executives also attributed the licensing of the U.S. TV series “Seinfeld” for the success of the division, which includes Sony’s film studios, television and TV network operations. Other contributions to the division’s strong quarter also included the success of “Venom:Let There Be Carnage” and better sales for media networks resulting from the acquisition of Crunchyroll.
Parent company, Sony Group’s net profits grew by 20% to $4.15 billion. Sales were up by 13% to $27.2 billion, the company reported.
Financial details for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2021 was made by executive deputy president and chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki; senior vice president in charge of corporate planning and control, finance and IR Naomi Matsuoka, and senior vice president, senior general manager, in charge of accounting Hirotoshi Korenagaand.
The games and network services division increased its year-on-year profitability in the quarter to $837 million. However, music sector net profits dropped in the latest quarter. The electronics division made a net contribution of $720 million.
At the session, the executives touted Sony’s high-profile acquisition of ‘Halo’ game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. Said Matsukoa, “Bungie has capitalized on (its) opportunity from an early stage by incorporating live game services into its premier franchise destiny and it has accumulated a wealth of experience and superb technology in the space.”
She also said that Sony plans to utilize Bungie’s strengths in developing new IP at Playstation studios “as we expand into the iPad gaming services area.” She added that in collaboration with Bungie, Sony plans to launch more than 10 new games by March 31, 2026.
