Sony’s Back On Track According to Their 2017 Q1 Report

Sony is coming back strong thanks to Hirai’s gamble.

When Sony Corporation President and CEO Kaz Hirai took the reins in 2012, the company was in trouble: The industry stalwart has been losing its value since the mid-2000s, and it was up to Hirai to figure out how to save the company. Sticking through his One Sony initiative, Hirai made a few key decisions and focused on three key areas, namely: digital imaging, gaming, and mobile. Second, was to cut 10,000 jobs and reduce bonuses for its employees. It was a brave and risky move, but these drastic decisions do paid off.

Fast forward to 2017, Hirai was able to turn Sony into a leader in imaging and gaming. There’s a good, good chance that the smartphones you are using have Sony’s image sensors, which translated to a 15.2% increase for its digital imaging business.

Even with a 59.7% decrease in operating income for its gaming business, due to price cuts to the PlayStation 4 and the absence of a lucrative first party software titles, Hirai still got his wish for Sony to be a leader in gaming. Earnings from PlayStation hardware and purchases from the PlayStation Network translated to a 5.4% increase in sales and operating revenue; not bad considering the PlayStation 4 is turning four years old this year.

Don’t count out Sony with its smartphone business either. Changes in its Xperia line of smartphones, cost cutting in research and development and an increase in device sales kept it afloat. A 2.5% decrease in sales and operating revenue does not sound bad either, especially with the new phones Sony has been releasing lately.

The same goes for Sony’s music and movie arm. While it is not part of Hirai’s One Sony agenda back in 2012, increased royalty payments in streaming services like Spotify propelled Sony’s music division with an 18.8% increase. While their movie division isn’t exactly in the green, the success of movies like Spiderman: Homecoming is expected to offset their losses. Considering the turn around of the movie division in the past few years, Hirai has no intentions of selling the company’s entertainment assets anytime in the future.