By Yuri Kageyama, Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) --Sony appointed a veteran executive as its president Thursday to lead the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate through changing times, and reported a decline in its profit in the last quarter.
Hiroki Totoki, Sony's chief financial officer, will become its president and COO, Sony Corp. said in a statement.
Kenichiro Yoshida remains chairman and chief executive, signaling continuity at the Tokyo-based maker of PlayStation game machines, Bravia TVs and Spider-Man movies.
Also Thursday, Sony reported a 6% decline in net profit for the October-December quarter, at 326.8 billion yen ($2.5 billion). That was down from 346 billion yen a year earlier, as profitability in its financial services was countered by losses in its Pictures division. Quarterly sales grew 13% to 3 trillion yen ($23 billion).
Yoshida proposed the executive change last year to strengthen Sony's management across its diverse operations. It won unanimous board approval Thursday.
Sony, for decades synonymous with Japan's technological prowess, brought mobile entertainment to the world with the music-on-the-move Walkman more than four decades ago. In recent years it been faulted for struggling to coordinate its sprawling operations spanning financial services to video games and music to digital cameras and robot dogs.
Totoki said he will try to live up to the challenge of leading the iconic company.
"I would like to create a positive spiral that begins with Sony being chosen by customers, which then energizes our employees, enables us to attract more new talent, increases our corporate value, and ultimately enables us to give back to society," he said.
The games division has faced headwinds lately, but its new HBO series "The Last of Us," for instance, is proving popular and is expected to boost sales in coming months.
Sony is forecasting an 870 billion yen ($6.8 billion) profit on 11.5 trillion yen ($89 billion) sales for the fiscal year that ends in March. The latest projection is an improvement over last year's. But expected profit still falls short of the 882 billion yen Sony recorded in the previous fiscal year.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More