Sony’s Device Segment & Insurance Business Continue to Rise

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The Sony Q1 FY15 year numbers are out and while things are looking bad for the mobile arm of the company, PlayStation continues to do stellar numbers (up 12.1% to ¥288.6 billion or $2.33bn) and has actually surpassed mobile (down 16.3% to ¥280.5bn or $2.27bn). Fortunately for Sony, other divisions of the company, while small compared to rivals, are starting to be more profitable, including their insurance business.

Those details after the jump.

A good sign for Sony, the Devices segment of the company reported a 35.1% increase and in turn brought in ¥237.9bn ($1.92bn) in revenue. For those unfamiliar with Sony’s division breakdown, Devices consists of semiconductors and components. This includes Sony’s camera sensors which can be found in competitor devices from Apple, Samsung, and Motorola. Better yet, Sony doesn’t see this trend slowing down.

Q1 FY2015 (year-on-year)

  • Sales: 35.1% increase (FX Impact: +17%)
    • (+) Significant increase in sales of image sensors reflecting higher demand for image sensors for mobile products
    • (+) Impact of foreign exchange rates
    • (+) Significant increase in sales of camera modules

It’s no wonder Sony is investing $4 billion in their image sensor business. Another interesting bit from Sony’s earnings came from their Financial Services segment, which really consists of the company’s insurance business. That division reported ¥46 billion ($370 million) in revenue, up 13.1%.

Q1 FY2015 (year-on-year)

  • Revenue: 13.1% increase
    • (+) Increase in revenue at Sony Life (15.7% increase, revenue: 250.9 bln yen)
    • (+) Increase in insurance premium revenue reflecting an increase in policy amount in force
    • (+) Improvement in investment performance in the separate account resulting mainly from a larger rise in the Japanese stock market

An interesting takeaway from all of this (one that I’ll share with you in more detail in a separate piece) is that these two divisions that are doing well for Sony and are projected to continue to do well also happen to be divisions that consumers will never know about. Then again, money is money, especially for a company like Sony.

Discuss:

Do you see it being a problem that Sony is making money from products that consumers will never know about and in turn don’t do anything to advance the Sony brand for those consumers?

[Via Sony]