SONY 23Q2 earning QnA summary

2023Q2, November 9, 2023 (Thu)
23Q2_Q&A

Hardware Losses

• Q2 FY2023에서의 하드웨어 손실 증가는 이전 회계 연도와의 비교에서 발생한 것
• 손실 증가는 직전 회계연도 같은 분기 동안 엔화의 급격한 절하와 부품 조달 리드타임 연장의 영향을 받음

Market Share and ADAS in I&SS Segment

• ADAS 분야의 어려움과 OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer)들 간의 시장 점유율 변동에도 불구하고 자동차용 이미지 센서의 중장기 성장 목표를 유지
• 이 어려움은 OEM 환경과 시장 점유율 변화에 기인

Initiatives and Game Title Releases

• 번지(Bungie)를 포함한 게임 자회사의 정리해고는 효율화 이니셔티브의 일환, FY2023 예측에 정리해고의 영향이 이미 포함되어 있음
• 게임 타이틀과 관련하여 계획을 수정하여 FY2025년까지 12개의 라이브 서비스 게임 타이틀 중 6개를 출시할 예정
• 양적인 것보다 질적인 것이 우선이며, 장기적인 성공을 위해서는 고품질 타이틀의 중요성을 강조

Financial Outlook for FY2024:

• PS Plus 가격 인상이 FY2025년에 연간 영향을 미칠 것으로 예상
• FY2023년에는 인수 관련 비용이 최고조에 이를 것으로 예상
• FY2024의 이익 예상에는 하드웨어와 관련된 판매 촉진 및 물류 비용 감소가 포함 되나 콘텐츠 투자 증가가 이익 증가를 일부 상쇄할 수 있음

PS5 Sales Target and Profitability

• PS5 판매 목표인 2,500만 대는 11~12월 판매 성수기에 맞춰 달성하기 어렵다는 평가를 받고 있음
• 판매 시즌의 상황을 예의주시하면서 물량과 수익성 사이에서 균형을 이루겠다는 목표
• 영업이익 전망에서 크게 벗어날 수 있는 공격적인 프로모션이나 할인 판매는 계획되어 있지 않음

Q: [G&NS segment] You left your annual target for PS5 hardware unit sales unchanged, but the target seems ambitious given that you were only just over 30% of the way there as of the end of the second quarter. What leads you to believe that you will be able to reach your target in the second half of the fiscal year? In addition, when discussing your PS5 target, you mentioned trying to strike a balance between sales volumes and profitability. Do you have a specific level of profitability in mind? How much do you expect in the way of additional sales costs?

A: 25 million units is a high target and not within easy reach. However, it is the November December selling season that is the most critical, and we have timed the release of our new model and the launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to coincide with that. We therefore intend to do our best to reach that 25-million target. That said, we will monitor how the situation develops during the selling season and strike a good balance between volumes and profitability rather than being overly focused on simply expanding our install base so that we can achieve our operating income forecast.
We will not engage in any promotions or discount sales that would position us to sharply undershoot the operating income forecast.

Q: [G&NS segment] What do you have in mind for the top management of the G&NS business over the mid- to long-term?
A: I do not intend to serve as interim CEO, which I will be starting from April 1, 2024, for any longer than a year at most. During that time, my most critical mission is to successfully fill the role of CEO with a successor and to ensure a smooth transition. The G&NS business is an extremely important business to us strategically, so I intend to respect the process for selecting a CEO who can meet the expectations of not only our employees but also our various stakeholders, and to undertake the smoothest transition possible at an early date.

Q: [G&NS segment] What factors impacted your second-quarter operating income on a year-on-year basis when impact of foreign exchange rates is excluded?

A: I will list the factors that positively affected our operating income in descending order of impact, starting with the impact of the growth in software sales (first-party titles were a bit weak, but thirdparty titles were strong, netting out to a positive impact), the positive impact of foreign exchange rates, and the impact of network services. The negative factors were higher costs associated with the impact of increased hardware (PS5) sell-in and the higher costs including SGA spending associated with the increased PS5 sales.

 

Speech Transcript (FY2023 Q2 Earnings)