Sony Q3 Results are in - 6.3m PS3s, $564m profit in NPS!

[Maximus]

So another quarter passes and more results come out...

Hardware Sales   Ap-Jn    Jl-Sp    Oc-Dc    Ja-Mr     FY       LTD

FY 2006/07         -        -       1.7      1.8      3.5      3.5

FY 2007/08        0.7      1.3      4.9      2.2      9.1      12.6 

FY 2008/09        1.6      2.4      4.5      1.6      10.1     22.7 

FY 2009/10        1.1      3.2      6.5      2.2      13.0     35.7

FY 2010/11        2.4      3.5      6.3       -       12.2     47.9

(thanks to Parmenides from NeoGAF for the chart).

Full information at Sony.net investor relations, here:

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/index.html

SCE as a company made $530m up from $164m over the same period last year. PS3 is now a profitable device and ecosystem. PSN is expected to turn a profit over the coming financial year.

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Very nice! Congrats to Sony! Thanks for the report, Max!

[BlackMamba]

I'm wary of quarterly (and even annual) financial figures (to a certain extent). They are telling in some respects, but you have to look deeper into how the company really does its accounting to get a sense of where those numbers are coming from. Not only that, but certain operational, financial, and marketing decisions can make the balance sheets look better/worse in the short-term, but really have little bearing on long-term success.

Even the sales numbers aren't particularly rosy. They're stagnating when they should (ideally) be on the rise. Software numbers are predictably up however and that can only be seen as a good thing.

I'm being a downer of course and my experience in finance/accounting is admittedly limited, but just some things to consider.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by BlackMamba

I'm wary of quarterly (and even annual) financial figures (to a certain extent). They are telling in some respects, but you have to look deeper into how the company really does its accounting to get a sense of where those numbers are coming from. Not only that, but certain operational, financial, and marketing decisions can make the balance sheets look better/worse in the short-term, but really have little bearing on long-term success.

Even the sales numbers aren't particularly rosy. They're stagnating when they should (ideally) be on the rise. Software numbers are predictably up however and that can only be seen as a good thing.

I'm being a downer of course and my experience in finance/accounting is admittedly limited, but just some things to consider.

As long as the company releases their results compliant to international standards then there should be no problem taking the results as true.

In fact Japanese companies make a point of being extra-careful when it comes to financial reporting, US based companies can be very aggressive and, err, over-report sales to please investors. That kind of stuff never happens at Japanese companies.

Anyway, if a company like Sony was caught lying to investors it would be a major scandal on the scale of Enron or WorldCom.

[Shin-Ra]

PS3 Platform Tops Konami and Namco Bandai Sales

KONAMI

('11 PS3 Releases: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, DanceDance Revolution, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2010, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2010, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010: Aoki Samurai no Chousen)

NAMCO BANDAI

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by BlackMamba

I'm wary of quarterly (and even annual) financial figures (to a certain extent). They are telling in some respects, but you have to look deeper into how the company really does its accounting to get a sense of where those numbers are coming from. Not only that, but certain operational, financial, and marketing decisions can make the balance sheets look better/worse in the short-term, but really have little bearing on long-term success.

Even the sales numbers aren't particularly rosy. They're stagnating when they should (ideally) be on the rise. Software numbers are predictably up however and that can only be seen as a good thing.

I'm being a downer of course and my experience in finance/accounting is admittedly limited, but just some things to consider.

These numbers are from their company report, so they follow all the accounting rules everyone else does, so I wouldn't speculate that they fudged the numbers in any means. Sure companies do legal things to prop up numbers, but I wouldn't say that Sony did that unless you know otherwise.

Sales do seem flat year over year...but if you look at the PS3 numbers, they are trending up even if they did have a less than stellar Q3 this year.

[BlackMamba]

agreed fellas, but even though everyone follows the same accounting rules, there is drastic variation in what goes into each line item depending on the company (although certain practices are accepted industry-wide). That is why I suggested that the numbers mean little without the accompanying comments (most likely found later in the report).

General profit numbers are not as misleading because they represent the convalescence of all these separate line items, but even so (especially with quarterly reports), companies may recognize certain expenses, gains, interest payments, etc. at certain times of the year meaning that certain quarterly figures may look better/worse depending on a variety of circumstances.

Not implying that any company fudges numbers or "lies" about anything. It's just that the way companies report their numbers can be misleading without context

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Deadset

Sales do seem flat year over year...but if you look at the PS3 numbers, they are trending up even if they did have a less than stellar Q3 this year.

Hold on there a minute. This quarter is nothing less than epic, they have shipped 6.3m units despite a $100 price disadvantage to the competition. There is no way that these sales are less than stellar. In fact it is the second best quarter ever recorded by the PS3 and the same as the best ever quarter recorded by the 360.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Hold on there a minute. This quarter is nothing less than epic, they have shipped 6.3m units despite a $100 price disadvantage to the competition. There is no way that these sales are less than stellar. In fact it is the second best quarter ever recorded by the PS3 and the same as the best ever quarter recorded by the 360.

who said anything about the 360?

FY09 Q3 PS3 sold 6.5, FY10 Q3 6.3. Like I said, nothing spectacular for year over year but overall their sales are trending up.

[RAZGRIZ-1]

Personally I find the PS2's sales figures the most impressive. The PS2 recently passed the 150 million sold mark. It's the first console to ever do so. PS2 continues to sell 11 years after it launched. Just goes to show what having the greatest game library out there will do.

[Maximus]

I think taking into consideration that last year's figures were post price cut and slim introduction to be down just 3% YoY is pretty damn good. People are calling 360 shipping 6.3 million great (which it is) then PS3 shipping 6.3m is also great.

Also consider that the PS3 had no SKU for under $299/£229/¥29,980 so they have sold 6.3m at those prices which is pretty damn amazing IMO since the competitors all had lower price offerings (360 had a very decent $199 package and Wii was $199).

[Snake_XRS]

I love how METAL GEAR is its own genre according to Konami lol

[nameisjimbo]

Good news! should top last years sales with room to spare and at a higher profitability per console!

That said, it is weird to see Q2 and Q3 actually down over last year, but once a spring price cut takes effect, it will be right up there again. 2011 is going to be spectacular!

[nameisjimbo]

Originally Posted by Maximus

I think taking into consideration that last year's figures were post price cut and slim introduction to be down just 3% YoY is pretty damn good. People are calling 360 shipping 6.3 million great (which it is) then PS3 shipping 6.3m is also great.

Also consider that the PS3 had no SKU for under $299/£229/¥29,980 so they have sold 6.3m at those prices which is pretty damn amazing IMO since the competitors all had lower price offerings (360 had a very decent $199 package and Wii was $199).

Its pretty nuts to think that the market can support that many consoles of all 3 simultaneously even 4 full years into the generation.

[AranhaHunter]

Originally Posted by Deadset

who said anything about the 360?

FY09 Q3 PS3 sold 6.5, FY10 Q3 6.3. Like I said, nothing spectacular for year over year but overall their sales are trending up.

I think you missed his point.....

Either way these numbers are great, I was pretty confident that PS3 would ship the least amongst the big 3 but that was no the case. It's a great turnaround and Sony as a whole is on the right path. Games division should be profitable from here on out, I don't think Sony will be losing much money on NGP (they may even try breaking even on HW) and they're in a position now that they can wait until they can at least break even or make a small profit until they drop the price of the PS3. Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to their estimates for next year, it'll pretty much tell us if a PS3/PSP price drop is planned.

PSN should be profitable starting next FY as well and PSN could be a big cash cow with huge profit margins, unlike the hardware side of the business which usually has much smaller margins.

[PS3-Playb3yond]

I'm guessing the price cut to $300 had a lot to do with it. Regardless, congratulations to Sony! If this continues numbers should look even better next year.

[AranhaHunter]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

I'm guessing the price cut to $300 had a lot to do with it. Regardless, congratulations to Sony! If this continues numbers should look even better next year.

Price cut to U$300? That was awhile ago...

[saprano]

Originally Posted by Maximus

As long as the company releases their results compliant to international standards then there should be no problem taking the results as true.

In fact Japanese companies make a point of being extra-careful when it comes to financial reporting, US based companies can be very aggressive and, err, over-report sales to please investors. That kind of stuff never happens at Japanese companies.

Anyway, if a company like Sony was caught lying to investors it would be a major scandal on the scale of Enron or WorldCom.

Its the new "sony stuffed the channels" argument.

[Maximus]

I can understand people have scepticism towards financial figures atm (given the state of the economy) and especially forecasts, but we have to work with what we are given. In this case if they were lying Sony's net gain would be almost negligible and the consequences of being caught are unimaginably bad. It would include major fines, lawsuits against management and their auditor would face similar actions. It just doesn't happen.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by saprano

Its the new "sony stuffed the channels" argument.

Hardly new. This is the same argument used last year...and the year before...

They've been saying it from the moment the first report came out that showed the PS3 as even slightly successful, primarily because these were the people who'd only look at NPD and think that either was or represented the entire world.