Nakayama

Nakayama from Yomiuri Newspaper inquired about the prospects for continued growth in music streaming revenue and the background behind the increase in unit prices for mobile image sensors within the I&SS segment.

Answer

Corporate Executive Officer and CFO Lin Tao projected mid-to-long-term growth for the Music business, driven by increasing ARPU and user numbers on DSPs. For I&SS, she explained that the rise in mobile image sensor unit prices is due to smartphone manufacturers' demand for higher camera resolutions and features, leading to larger-scale, increased-performance image sensors from Sony.

Nakayama asked about the prospects for continued growth in music streaming revenue and the background behind the increase in the unit price of mobile image sensors in the I&SS segment.

Answer

Lin Tao, Corporate Executive Officer and CFO, projected mid to long-term growth for the music business market, driven by increasing ARPU and user numbers on DSPs. She attributed the increase in mobile image sensor unit prices to smartphone manufacturers' focus on enhancing camera features, leading to demand for larger, higher-resolution, and feature-rich image sensors from Sony.

Nakayama from Yomiuri Newspaper asked for a specific breakdown of the upside contribution from Demon Slayer versus Kokuhou to the music segment's operating income. Nakayama also sought clarification on the background of the JPY 20 billion decline in the tariff impact forecast, particularly regarding the utilization of strategic inventory and its effect on the I&SS segment.

Answer

Lin Tao, CFO, Corporate Executive Officer, refrained from providing a specific breakdown for individual titles. Naoya Horii, Senior Vice President in Charge of Corporate Planning and Control, Disc Manufacturing Business, and Storage Media Business, explained that the JPY 20 billion decline in tariff impact (from JPY 70 billion to JPY 50 billion) primarily stems from the I&SS segment. Horii noted that based on the final product market and customer orders, there was no longer a need to incorporate the tariff impact in this segment's forecast, leading to its exclusion.