Sony's nice weak yen

Economy's woes good for quarter

By MONICA ROMAN

A weaker yen and stronger results from its games, music and insurance business groups helped lift Sony Corp.'s net income 18% in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30.

Net income was about 41 billion yen, or $290.4 million, at the recent rate of 141 yen to the U.S. dollar.

In the year-ago quarter, Sony had net income of 34.8 billion yen, when the Japanese currency was valued at 114 to the dollar.

Revenues for the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment conglomerate climbed 13% in the latest period to 1.6 trillion yen, or $11.5 billion, from 1.4 trillion yen in the year-ago quarter.

Music and music

The music group's revenues increased 26% to $1.2 billion while operating income doubled to $59 million, thanks to hit releases from Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin and the success of the "Godzilla" soundtrack.

Sony also cited strong carryover sales of Celine Dion's "Let's Talk About Love," the "Titanic" soundtrack, Savage Garden's self-titled debut album and Will Smith's "Big Willie Style."

Revenues at Sony's pictures group fell 14% to $918 million and operating income slipped 9% to $38 million. The company attributed the decline primarily to an accounting change and the merger of its Loews Theaters exhibition arm with Cineplex Odeon Corp.

As a result of the merger creating Loews Cineplex Corp., Sony no longer consolidates Loews into its corporate results.

The 1997 quarter for the picture group includes four months of activity instead of three because of an accounting change.

Homevid help

Sony said the latest period benefited from the homevideo releases of "Men in Black," "My Best Friend's Wedding," "As Good as It Gets" and "Spice World." The company noted the current quarter includes revenues from the theatrical release of "Godzilla," but said the pic, which opened in late May, did not have a "significant effect" on operating income.

In New York, Sony shares fell $1.31 to close at $90.50.

As is customary for Japanese companies, Sony included estimates of its full-year results in its latest report. The company anticipates that its net income for fiscal 1999 ending March 31 will decline 3% to 215 billion yen despite a 5% gain in revenues to 7.1 trillion yen because of intense price competition in its electronics markets.