Japan's Sony reports declining profit but expects a record for this year

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Group Corp. reported a 3.4% drop in its annual profit but projected Friday a comeback to record profits for the current fiscal year. Tokyo-based Sony's net profit for the year through March totaled 1.03 trillion yen ($6.6 billion), down from 1.07 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. Ending a plan to release an electric vehicle with Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. hurt its earnings. Rising costs of computer chips also bit into profit and remain a concern, according to Sony, which has film, music and video-game operations. Sony is forecasting a 1.16 trillion yen ($7.4 billion) profit for this fiscal year, which would be a record for the company and a 13% jump from the year that just ended. Annual sales at Sony for the fiscal year that just ended rose 3.7% from the previous year to nearly 12.5 trillion yen ($8 billion), boosted by hit films such as the latest in the " Demon Slayer"series and "Kokuho," and by healthy demand for games and network services. On a quarterly basis, profit at Sony, which is behind the Bravia and PlayStation brands and the "Spider-Man" movies, fell 63% to 83 billion yen ($529 million) from 224 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. Quarterly sales edged up 8% to 3 trillion yen ($19 billion), said the company, whose musical artists include Bad Bunny and Sza. Sony is counting on healthy sales from its upcoming films, such as "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"and "Jumanji: Open World," to boost its bottom line for the current fiscal year. Also Friday, Sony said it would spend up to 500 billion yen ($3.2 billion) to buy back up to 230 million shares. Sony stock, which has been trading at about 3,000 yen ($19) lately, gained 1% on Friday.