Sony forecasts lower annual gaming sales as PS5 hardware demand cools and memory prices rise

Sony Group Corp. forecast a 6% decline in annual sales at its gaming business to 4.42 trillion yen ($28 billion), citing weaker PlayStation 5 hardware sales as the console matures and higher memory chip prices weighing on the electronics industry.

Despite the sales outlook, Sony said it expects gaming profits to rise 30%, driven by higher first-party sosourcesware sales and the absence of an impairment loss recorded a year earlier.

Sony said it sold 1.5 million PS5 consoles in the fourth quarter, a 46% drop from the same period a year earlier.

The company also announced a share buyback of up to 500 billion yen, covering up to 230 million shares.

For the year ended March, Sony reported operating profit rose 13.4% to 1.45 trillion yen, below an LSEG consensus estimate of 1.56 trillion yen.