Sony Corporation announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2015. Sales and operating revenue decreased by 0.1% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year to 1,808.1 billion yen ($14,820 million).
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Sales were essentially flat year-on-year mainly due to a decrease in Mobile Communications (MC) segment sales reflecting a significant decrease in smartphone unit sales and a decrease in Home Entertainment & Sound (HE&S) segment sales reflecting a decrease in unit sales of mid-range LCD televisions, substantially offset by the impact of foreign exchange rates and a significant increase in Devices segment sales reflecting the strong performance of image sensors.
On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 7% year-on-year. For further details about the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on sales and operating income (loss). Operating income increased 27.1 billion yen year-on-year to 96.9 billion yen ($794 million).
This significant increase was primarily due to an increase in operating income in the Music segment, reflecting the recording of a remeasurement gain, described below, and the impact of the increase in sales in the Devices segment
This increase was partially offset by the negative impact of foreign exchange rates in the MC segment and lower sales in the Pictures segment due to a decrease in theatrical and television licensing revenues for Motion Pictures.
Operating income in the current quarter includes a $151 million U.S. dollar (18.1 billion yen) gain on the remeasurement to fair value of Sony Music Entertainment (SME)’s 51% equity interest in Orchard Media, Inc., which had previously been accounted for under the equity method, as a result of SME increasing its ownership interest to 100%, in the Music Segment, as well as a gain of 12.3 billion yen ($101 million) from the sale of a part of the logistics business, in connection with the formation of a logistics joint venture, recorded in Corporate and elimination.
Operating income in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year included a gain of 14.8 billion yen recognized on the sale of certain buildings and premises at the Gotenyama Technology Center in Japan, recorded in Corporate and elimination. During the current quarter, restructuring charges, net, decreased 5.1 billion yen year-on-year to 10.1 billion yen ($83 million). ■