Sony Group - Q2 2023

Transcript

Moderator (participant)

We'd now like to begin Sony Group earnings announcement. I'll be serving as the moderator. I am from Corporate Communications. My name is Okada. First, Executive Deputy President and CFO Totoki will present the FY 2022 second quarter earnings and FY 2022 forecast, followed by Q&A. In total, we're scheduling for 17 minutes. With no further ado, Mr. Totoki, please. Today, I would like to start by talking about the business environment surrounding Sony. We recognize that the risk of the global economy slowing down is increasing further due to the factors such as rising tensions between the U.S. and China, soaring energy prices, and expanding inflationary pressure, as well as rapid interest rate hikes in various countries.

We are taking steps to prepare for further deterioration of the business environment in each of our businesses, especially in Entertainment, Technology, and Services, ET&S, and Imaging and Sensing Solutions, I&SS, which are relatively more sensitive to an economic recession. Now I'd like to explain the following. The consolidated result for the second quarter ended September 30, FY 2022 Q2, and the consolidated results. Consolidated sales for the quarter increased 16% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year-over-year, to JPY 2,751.9 billion. Consolidated operating income increased JPY 25.6 billion to JPY 344.0 billion, both recognized for the second quarter and first half. Income before income taxes increased JPY 62.7 billion year-over-year to JPY 345.8 billion.

Net income attributable to Sony Group Corporation shareholders increased JPY 50.9 billion to JPY 264.0 billion. This shows the results by segment for FY 2022 Q2. Next, I'll explain the FY 2022 consolidated earnings forecast. The forecast for consolidated sales is JPY 11.6 trillion, an increase of JPY 100 billion from the previous forecast. The forecast for operating income is upward revised to JPY 1.16 trillion, an increase of JPY 50 billion, and the same amount that forecasted at beginning of fiscal year. The forecast for consolidated operating cash flow, excluding financial services segment, is unchanged. The assumed foreign exchange rates are approximately 140 yen to the US dollar, approximately 138 yen to the euro. The forecast for each segment is as follows.

I'll now explain the situation in each of our business segments. First, the Game & Network Services, G&NS, segment. Q2 sales increased 12% year-on-year to JPY 720.7 billion, primarily due to the impact of foreign exchange rates, despite a decrease in sales of third-party software. Operating income increased a significant JPY 40.5 billion year-on-year to JPY 42.1 billion, primarily due to the recording of expenses associated with acquisition, including Bungie, Inc. An increase in software development costs and the negative impact of foreign exchange rates partially offset by a decrease in losses on hardware.

The 22 sales are expected to be JPY 3.63 trillion, an increase of JPY 10 billion from the previous forecast due to the impact of foreign exchange rates, partially offset by reduction in the sales forecast for third-party software, reflecting results of Q2. On the other hand, operating income is expected to be JPY 225 billion, a decrease of JPY 30 billion from the previous forecast. Regarding hardware profitability, we are expecting a slight improvement from the previous forecast due to price changes and cost reduction, partially offset by the negative impact of the foreign exchange rates. Regarding software profitability, we have downwardly revised our forecast because we think it'll take more time for engagement to recover from its current low level.

In addition, our forecast for expenses associated with acquisition is expected to increase from the previous forecast by JPY 4 billion due to the impact of foreign exchange rates and amount to approximately JPY 61 billion. Operating income excluding amount is estimated to be JPY 286 billion. Although a total gameplay time spent by PlayStation users during Q2 increased slightly versus the previous quarter, it decreased 10% year-on-year, primarily due to the impact of an increase in opportunities to go outside, resulting from a reduction in COVID-19 infections. When we compare software sales for this quarter with the same period of the previous fiscal year, we see sales of past library titles decline sharply, while sales of major new titles remain strong. Users appear to be playing a smaller number of titles out of a desire to spend less money.

The number of PlayStation Plus subscribers, accounts at the end of September decreased 4% from the end of June to 45.4 million accounts. We see that this decrease result from a greater decline in user engagement among PS4 users than expected. On the other hand, the ratio of PS Plus subscribers among PS5 users remains at a level significantly higher than that of PS4. We are putting even more effort into accelerating the penetration of PS5 hardware to recover this user engagement going forward. Regarding production of PS5 hardware, restrictions on the supply of materials and logistics has significantly eased, and the number of units produced during the quarter exceeded 6.5 million, progressing faster than planned.

We recognize that demand from customers for PS5 continues to be strong, as the actual sales situation at retail stores in the U.S. is such that in September, it took an average of 17.5 hours to sell out 100,000 units after their arrival. To meet this strong demand, we will do our utmost to bring forward supply into the year-end holiday selling season and aim to exceed our FY 2022 forecast of 18 million units. In terms of first party software, we plan to release a new popular franchise title, God of War Ragnarök, on November ninth. The previous God of War game released in 2018, it was one of the largest titles ever released exclusively for PlayStation, selling 23 million units cumulatively to date. We expect similar performance from the new title as well.

Regarding Bungie, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Season of Plunder, which was released in August, is off to a good start. In addition, we have announced Destiny 2: Lightfall, which is an expansion pack scheduled for release in February of next year, and we are receiving great expectations from fans as a result. In addition, Bungie's collaboration with PlayStation Studios is progressing well. Regarding PS software, we released Marvel's Spider-Man in August, and the popular IP that was also a hit movie, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, in October. The titles have been rated highly, with Metacritic Metascores of 87 and 88 respectively. In the two months since release, sales of Marvel's Spider-Man approached the highest level ever for a PC software title released by Sony.

In this way, we are actively pursuing various measures to ensure increased user engagement and re-accelerating the growth of our game business from both the hardware and software perspectives. We expect to see the results of these efforts contribute to sales and profit in earnest, from the second half of this fiscal year and next fiscal year.

Hiroki Totoki (President, COO, and CFO)

Next is the music segment. Q2 sales increased a significant 32% year-on-year to JPY 359.3 billion, mainly due to the impact of falling exchange rates and the increase in streaming sales. Operating income was JPY 78.7 billion, a significant increase over JPY 28.1 billion year-on-year, mainly due to the positive impact of Forex exchange rate and increase in sales. The contribution of operating income from visual media and platforms accounted for mid-teens% of the operating income of the segment of the quarter.

In the mobile game application, thanks to the collaboration with the Lasengle, which Aniplex acquired in February this year, our efforts to strengthen development service are progressing smoothly and our sales Fate/Grand Order in the first half of this fiscal year, which is the eighth year since launch of the title, exceeded the level of the first half of the previous fiscal year. Primarily due to the impact of the falling exchange rate and the result of the fiscal year so far, we upwardly revised both sales and operating income forecast. Sales to JPY 1,770 billion and the increase of JPY 90 billion on the previous forecast. Operating income to JPY 265 billion, and the increase of JPY 35 billion from the previous forecast.

Streaming sales in this segment continues to grow steadily with year-on-year increase of 34%, recorded music 78%, music publishing. In the recorded music, the average of 48 of our songs ranked at the top 100 songs in Spotify's weekly global music ranking for the first half of the year. Which substantially exceeded average of 36 of the songs over the 12 months. We are maintaining high share of hit tunes by continuing generate hits from the contribution of the new artists and well-established artists as Beyoncé with the new album in 6 years, Renaissance.. Now, I will take a moment to review our strategic investment in this segment.

We actively making a strategic investment to capture further growth in the music and the market, which is driven by AWAL, small labels at AWAL Records and merchandising, Ceremony of Roses and podcast production, Somethin' Else for the acquisitions. In addition, we are carefully selecting which music catalogs of industry-leading influential artists to acquire, such as Bruce Springsteen. These acquisitions perform the important role of generating stable long-term royalty income, further expanding song revenues opportunities and increasing our presence in the music industries. This strategic investment is steadily producing result, and we expect our operating income of this first fiscal year, Sony Music Group, which is responsible for our music business outside of Japan, to reach the record high for the sixth consecutive years. Next is the pictures segment.

Q2 sales increased 29% year-on-year to JPY 337.5 billion, primarily due to the impact of the falling Forex exchange rate. Operating income decreased JPY 4 billion year-on-year to JPY 27.6 billion. Primarily due to the existence of the same period of the previous years of licensing revenue from digital streaming services. FY 2022 sales are expected to be JPY 1,450 billion and the increase of JPY 70 billion from the previous forecast, primarily due to the impact of the Forex exchange. We have upward revised operating income forecast to JPY 115 billion and increased JPY 15 billion compared to the previous forecast.

In the motion pictures, as you can see, Sony released original works in different genres during the quarter and all of them performed well. Among those are Where the Crawdads Sing and the movie adaptation of the best seller novel, which achieved a box office revenue that greatly exceeded our expectations. The movie was made by our 3000 Pictures studio, which was the partnership of HarperCollins and the major global publishing companies. We are seeing the success of our efforts discovering the excellent original works and making. Now, I'd like to give you an update on the Crunchyroll and animation business distribution service. The integration of the Crunchyroll and Funimation services is progressing smoothly, and the number of paying subscribers are increasing, nearly 10 million so far.

The company is also actively involved in overseas theatrical distribution of Japanese animation. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was released in August in the U.S. and secured the number one box office sales in the first week of the release. Also on August fourth, we completed the acquisition of Right Stuf, an e-commerce company that sells anime DVDs, character goods, and comics. Next, I'd like to explain our recent acquisitions of Pixomondo. Having seven facilities in North America and Europe, Pixomondo offers end-to-end services from virtual production to visual effects. It is a pioneer in the field, having won numerous Academy and Emmy awards for the project it has worked on.

It has superb technological capabilities and a rich history of success, and it is also known for using the Unreal Engine game engine provided by Epic Games, which we use to make its visual effects. In the visual production market, which is expected to grow significantly in the future, we will aim to combine Sony's hardware and software technologies and our video production know-how with Pixomondo's technology capabilities to establish a leading position. Lastly, I will explain the progress toward the merger of Sony Pictures Networks India and Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Following the approval of Competition Commission of India on October fourth, Zee's shareholders approved the merger at the extraordinary shareholders meeting held on October 14th. The merger process is progressing steadily, and we currently expect the transaction to close by the end of first half of the next year.

Naomi Matsuoka (SVP, in charge of Corporate Planning and Control)

Next is the ET&S segment. Q2 sales increased a significant 16% year-on-year to JPY 677 billion, mainly due to the impact of foreign exchange rates. Operating income increased JPY 5.1 billion year-on-year to JPY 77.8 billion, primarily due to the positive impact of foreign exchange rates and the impact of an increase in sales of digital cameras. Although we have incorporated the additional risk of market slowdown in the second half of the first fiscal year, our FY 2022 sales forecast is JPY 2,510 billion, an increase of JPY 60 billion. There is no change from the previous forecast for the operating income. In the current quarter, we are able to quickly recover from the supply chain turmoil caused by the lockdown in Shanghai in order to restore a stable supply.

This enabled us to recover sales and profit, primarily in the digital camera. For TVs, the deterioration of the business environment is becoming apparent, such as increasing downward pressure on price due to an oversupply of panels and sluggish demand, especially in Europe. We anticipate that the environment will become even more severe going into next fiscal year due to the global economic slowdown. We are going to minimize the risk. As such, at the end of September, daily inventory turnover in every product category has decreased versus the end of June, and we are planning to pay close attention to demand trends as we reduce inventory even further.

In addition, we are accelerating our efforts to strengthen our business structure from next fiscal year onwards and sales operations, strengthening the cooperation between ET&S, I&SS, and G&NS in procurement and logistics and further optimization of the break-even point according to the business environment. In addition, new business areas which have been positioned as our growth axis, such as sports, life science, network services, and virtual production, are expected to increase their sales by approximately 20%. Next is the I&SS segment. Q2 sales increased a significant 43% year-on-year to JPY 398.4 billion, mainly due to the impact of Forex and higher sales of image sensors for mobile devices. Operating income was JPY 74 billion, a significant increase of JPY 24.3 billion year-on-year, mainly due to the positive impact of Forex and the benefit from the increase in sales.

Our sales forecast remains unchanged. We have upwardly revised our operating income forecast by JPY 20 billion from the previous forecast to JPY 220 billion, primarily due to the positive impact of foreign exchange rates. The slowdown in the smartphone market, particularly in China, did not improve during Q2, but the impact was generally within the scope assumed in our previous forecast. However, for the high-end smartphone cameras are progressing as expected with larger die size, higher resolution, and higher performance. Benefiting from this, sales reached a historic high for the segment in the second quarter. Due to the improved supply of logic semiconductors, it has become possible to increase the production of large die size and higher resolution sensors, which means that we can proactively introduce high value added sensors.

We expect image sensor shipments in the third quarter ending December 31 to remain at a higher level. We also believe that we need to consider the risk of further economic slowdown in the end user product market. Therefore, in the current forecast, we have incorporated additional risk into our sales, and we have made a conservative forecast. Regarding inventories, we are continuing to utilize existing production capacity and manage strategic inventories or optimize the timing of future capital investment. Inventory at the end of the quarter was up about 33% year-on-year, which we believe is fully in line with our sales growth. From the next fiscal year onwards, we expect a trend of increasing adoption of large die size and higher resolution sensors in the high-end smartphones.

At the same time, the automotive business is also steadily expanding, and we have great expectations for the business to grow. Last, the Financial Services segment. FY 2022 Q2 financial services revenue decreased 70% year-on-year to JPY 304.5 billion, mainly due to the deterioration in net gains and losses in investment in the separate accounts at Sony Life Insurance. Operating income at Sony Life increased a significant JPY 11.6 billion year-on-year to JPY 54.6 billion, primarily due to the impact of the recovery of the funds that were subject of unauthorized withdrawal. The FY 2022 financial services revenue forecast is JPY 1.31 trillion, a decrease of JPY 130 billion from the previous forecast. There is no change from the previous forecast for the operating income.

To summarize the earnings announcement, our biggest regret is that we have made a significant downward revision to the operating income forecast of the G&NS segment for the second consecutive quarter, year-over-year. As CFO, I take this very seriously, and I view improving the accuracy of our earnings forecast. On the other hand, when looking at the entire group in the first half of the fiscal year, we think that each businesses responded swiftly to major changes in the business environment. Furthermore, the results of the investment we have made in the music and I&SS segments have made up for the weakness of G&NS segment. The cost structure of each business segment has balanced out the significant fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and therefore, we are able to strengthen our resilience.

We anticipate that the business environment will become even more severe from now into the next fiscal year, and each business is taking steps to prepare for this. In addition, while facing these issues in the short term, we will also work to implement measures to grow over the long term. This concludes my remarks. Thank you.

Moderator (participant)

That was the presentation by Totoki. From 4:25, we will start to take questions from the media, and from 4:50, we'll start the Q&A for investors and analysts. For each segment, we are planning for 20 minutes of Q&A. Those of you registered to ask questions beforehand, please call the number that has been sent to you. As for the method of asking questions, we have sent you the information beforehand, which we ask you to confirm. Those of you who have not made any pre-registration, please listen to the Q&A via the Internet. We ask you for indulgence while you wait for the Q&A. Thank you for waiting. We would now like to start the Q&A by the media.

The presenter names will be Hiroki Totoki, Executive Deputy President, and Naomi Matsuoka, Senior Vice President in charge of Corporate Planning and Control, Support for Finance, Business and Entertainment area, and Sadahiko Hayakawa, Senior Vice President in charge of Finance and IR. We'd now like to begin the Q&A. Please limit your questions to two per person. Those of you who have a question, please press the asterisk followed by the number one. The first question is from Nikkei. Mr. Tsutsumi, please.

Speaker 10

This is Tsutsumi from Nikkei. Can you hear me?

Moderator (participant)

Yes, we can hear you.

Speaker 10

About game and semiconductor. First, about the game segment. About the sales forecast, can you give the breakdown, software, hardware, and can you give me the breakdown of specifics of your sales forecast?

I think major titles. I think you have a very good lineup, but including the year-end sales for the third quarter, the game software sales compared to the previous year, how much of a level are you aiming towards year-on-year? There is a slowdown of the economy, et cetera, these external factors. Including those factors, can you answer? PS5, will the price increase have an impact on the demand? That's my first question. The second question about semiconductors. Earlier, you said that China and the high-end, especially low-end, decline is within your expectation. Going forward, I think there are some additional risks that you have factored in, but about the high-end, there is a possibility that the sales will drop. Did you factor in this possibility? Especially North America customers, high-end forecast.

Can you explain whether the high-end models are doing well now? We have a lot of news about the problem at the production factory, et cetera. Can you explain how much of these factors have been included in your forecast, and what is the outlook?

Sadahiko Hayakawa (SVP, in charge of Finance and IR)

Thank you for the question. First, about Game & Network Services question. Well, about the sales forecast and the breakdown of the forecast. As for specific numbers, I cannot disclose them here, but as a trend, I will say software and first-party software. I think so. I think it will be a high thanks to God of War. About third party, well, the overall game trend will impact, but I think there will be less year-on-year, so we'll see a decline year-on-year, slightly.

About the hardware, I cannot give specific unit numbers, but as I mentioned in my speech, the second quarter production, it's reached 6.5 million already, and we want to use this to supply for the year-end sales. I think there's a lot of expectation here. PS5 price increase impact. Well, so far, due to the price increase, we have not seen any dampening of the demand, but we have to monitor what will happen in the market going forward. I&SS, the China mid and low-end models, the slowdown decline, this is something that we have already factored in. About high-end, I think that it is doing relatively well, but, to a certain extent, it will, along with economic slowdown, experience a slight decline. This risk has been factored in.

Including that, in our forecast, we have come up with these numbers. Please take it to be that way. About customer information, we cannot disclose any of such information. Thank you.

Hiroki Totoki (President, COO, and CFO)

We'd like to move on to the next question. Kyodo News Agency, Mr. Yamazaki.

Speaker 7

My name is Yamazaki of Kyodo News. I think I have two questions. First, one is for your performance forecast. Due to yen's depreciation, what extent of upward the effect do you expect because of the yen's depreciation? In addition to that, there are so many areas, so that might be difficult for you to answer, but as for upward the revision, what are the main factors for the upward revisions? Is it possible for you to name a few? Second is for semiconductor trend. In October, you talked about U.S. the more stringent restrictions on exports to China. So what is the impact on you, on your business and the U.S. restrictions on China?

Hiroki Totoki (President, COO, and CFO)

Thank you for your questions. First is for the business performance outlook, because of a fall in exchange, some potential impact on the revenue. Probably Hayakawa-san will answer the questions. Thank you for your questions. For your questions, as for your question is concerning falling exchange impact on our future forecast. Dollar, euro, if there is any difference by 1 yen, we have already indicated some extent. Other than dollar and euro, we have some other currency. We have the fall in the exchange hedging, there might be some difference between the sensitivity to Forex fluctuations. Especially in the gaming industries, we have the, based on the dollar cost, that's we have to see a negative impact.

That's the year-on-year basis for the future focus. We have a downward focus, and almost 50% is the impact by the Forex. I&SS, and we have the positive effect because of the Forex rate fluctuation. We have the positive profit. As for the G&NS, and in the final consolidated settlement, we have the limited impact. That's my opinion. As for some other few the main factors for upward revision, one is the contribution by the music segment and growth in the streaming business, and due to Forex the impact. Those are the main drivers for upward revisions. I&SS are other factors.

Of course, we have the impact by the falling exchange rate. We have quite steady sales in the Q2 and a record high revenue and sales. That's why we came up with the upward revision for the forecast. I&SS segment and the U.S. export restriction to the Chinese market and to what extent of impact we have to foresee. That's announced back in the seventh of October. We have witnessed a minimal effect or impact. We have already embedded for our future forecast. The tension might be intensified between U.S. and China. We'd like to carefully monitor the situation, what's going on. Thank you.

Moderator (participant)

We would like to take the next question please, from NHK. Mr. Shimai, please.

Speaker 9

This is Shimai from NHK. I hope you can hear my voice. I have two questions. First is about yen's depreciation and looking at the business. There is a positive impact of weaker yen. However, please, for example, cost increase, there could be a negative impact. What kind of impact is there? Also in comparison to competitors, for example, due to the weak yen, they are going to review once again their production capability. For Sony, are you going to review once again your production capability? Another question is about, in relationship to the semiconductor, for the PS5, there was 6.5 million units. Therefore, not only the PlayStation, however, for the production of the semiconductor. Do you think this kind of impact of the semiconductor production have been already weeded out?

Speaker 13

Talking about the exchange rate. Well, because positive, negative, and also the segments, as Mr. Hayakawa had mentioned, there are both impacts. For the time being, so looking at the sensitivity for the yen, 1 yen weaker yen, so there will be a positive of $1 billion. For the euro, it's $7 billion.

In fact. For the G&NS, ET&S, and for the I&SS, yes. This apply to all three segments. Talking about the projection, well, because due to the exchange rate, we don't decide based on the exchange rate and, well, because looking at the condition of the supply chain and also the geopolitical risk, we need to take into consideration those environment. However, it is important to have a flexibility and for example, I mentioned about the automation and also the DX. I have included in my speech. Therefore, I, well, because it's going to have a standardization in the production, and therefore if there is a standardization, we are able to produce everywhere. Therefore, we are going to take proactive action for that. Talking about the G&NS.

For the semiconductor and the parts, and also looking at the logistics, there aren't too much pressure on that. In the second quarter, 6.5 million units, we are able to produce that amount. Sales of the PS5 have been according to the plan. For the production, we are able to have a more speedy production, and therefore 18 million target can be achieved. We are going to have a positive impact on that. That is all.

Moderator (participant)

We'll proceed to the next question. Toyo Keizai, Sasaki-san, please.

Speaker 11

Can you hear me? Yes. Thank you. Sasaki from Toyo Keizai. I have two questions. First, about PS5. The outlook of next fiscal year. Well, you said about the logistics and the component supply recovering, but next fiscal year, will you be able to produce and meet all the demands? When about will you be able to surpass the demand? Second, about music. Earlier in the explanation, you said that virtual media platform is, it accounts for about 10%, but this ratio, is it growing? If so, what are the reasons for the growth? Anime. Within the segment profit, how much does anime account for?

Speaker 13

Thank you. About your first question, PS5 and the outlook for next fiscal year, you're asking about the unit sales, I believe. At the presentation we gave in May, we said PS5 in the fourth year, in 2023, after PS5 was introduced, at this timing, PS5 would surpass PS4. This is the challenge that we have set out for ourselves. If we can manage 18 million this year, next year we do some 23 million plus, then next year we'll be able to surpass PS4. This will be the target for the time being. About music. Well, the virtual visual platform is about 10%. But FGO is the largest part.

It's quite some time since it enlarged. In the mid to long term, there will be a decline.Like the Lasengle acquisition, there is the vertical acquisition, so it has exceeded last year. We want people to enjoy it as long as possible. We want to make it into such an IP. Now, as the ratio goes down, for example, the Demon Slayer anime and the new IPs to follow, we want to develop them so that we can grow this business. As for anime, the profitability, I think it's very good.

That's all. Thank you.

Hiroki Totoki (President, COO, and CFO)

Our time is running out, and I would like to take the 1 final question. If you have any questions, please press asterisk followed by 1. There seems to be no questions, and I would like to adjourn the Q&A session for the media attendants. As for investors and analysts, the Q&A session will start at a quarter to five. 16:45, we are going to resume the session for investors and analysts. Thank you. Shortly, we are going to start the Q&A session for analysts and investors. Please wait just 4 minutes.

Speaker 6

Thank you for your waiting, and I would like to start the Q&A session for investors and analysts. My name is Shinji over Financial IR Group.

I'm going to take the chair of this session. As for the media session, we have three representatives from the podium to answer the questions. As for the operational method of the telephones, please refer to the previous announcement. You are allowed to ask only up to two questions. We'd like to start Q&A session. If you have any questions, please press asterisk followed by number one. From Morgan Stanley MUFG, Ono-san.

Speaker 8

My name is Ono from Morgan Stanley. Do you hear me? I think I have two questions on ET&S and G&NS, respectively one question. On ET&S, as for cameras, the sales and the business has been performing quite well.

Not only for Sony, but to the market as a whole, seems to be quite promising. As for the ET&S overall, the operating profit now JPY 180 billion, and that might be because of Forex impact and the camera business with high margin. I feel a bit awkward for those figures. As for smartphones and the new Xperia 1 IV are now on the release, and many of the communication carriers started to discount the sales. What is your take on those moves? I'd like to know why you didn't change guidance, and mainly because of that. The second is, we have the 118 million product production is now on the scene.

As for MAU figures, has been slowing down gradually. You are going to have the first party release for the next period. Do you expect some of the recovery in the Q3 period because of that?

Hiroki Totoki (President, COO, and CFO)

Thank you for your question. As for ET&S, and as for camera business in the first half, our business has been quite excellent. Almost a record high. As for pent-up demand since the last period because of a supply shortage, that might be the contributing factors. The second half concerns for economic slowdown should be incorporated. We have some impressions that the camera business is now gradually going to slow down, so we should be more conservative.

That is why we came up with that guidance. As for TV, as you know quite well.

The panel supply and the excess and the ASPs are declining. We do not follow too much. Because we like to pursue the highest as much profit as you can make in the first half. We will be more selective in the second half to secure the profit. We will be ready for the recovery of the economic cycles of the next fiscal year. We will get ready for that recovery. That's our policies. The G&NS and the operation itself has been quite well. According to the previous period and we have the decline, so the MAU and the other indices.

In the second quarter, more people are now going outdoors, and we still have yet to get out of the negative cycles. PS4s and third-party software sales has been rather sluggish. The catalog titles and historical titles has been declining. Against that, PS5 engagement is quite high. The Q3, we expect some recovery. We have the strong titles from the first party. We have some seasonal effects on the Q3, and we can see some of the recovery from the downturn trend. That's our expectations. Thank you.

Speaker 6

Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Ono. We'd like to move on to the next question from J.P. Morgan Securities. Mr. Aida, please.

Junya Ayada (Executive Director, Research Analyst)

Thank you very much, from J.P. Morgan, Ayada. I have two questions for the game. The first question is, as you have mentioned about the third-party sales, there have been a deterioration, and therefore, I would like you to explain in detail. Well, because there hadn't been a good catalog title sale. Thinking about the new titles and talking about the current situation, there had to be a hurdle in comparison to the last year. However, looking at the other platforms, including the consoles and the PCs, the users have been taken by other players. Do you have any perspective on this point? The second question is about the PS Plus members. There had been a decline, and for this quarter there have been a huge decline. In order to recover the membership, how

Which area are you going to focus for the third quarter, including the first-party, you're going to release the large titles, so you expect more members to come back? Or so talking about the attach rate of PS4 and PS5, and therefore you're going to focus on the hardware by selling the PS5, you're going to increase the membership. I think you're going to take both ways. If there is any perspective on these points.

Sadahiko Hayakawa (SVP, in charge of Finance and IR)

Thank you very much for the question. First, for the first question. There have been a weakness in the third-party software. Well, because our initial forecast was too strong, and therefore that is the point that we need to reflect for the second quarter. There had been more expense. For example, I think the users are going out from home and therefore that had given an impact to our sales. In addition, talking about the new titles, the large titles, for example, the third-party AAA titles, we are going to maintain our strength. For example, the Call of Duty, we are having a good release and therefore for the third quarter we do have a very high expectation.

Talking about the membership, there have been a decline for the PS Plus, and there have been a decline in number of members for the PS Plus. However, in the second quarter we had renewed our services and also there hadn't been a great momentum as a whole, and also we didn't make aggressive promotion during the second quarter. Therefore, in the future we are going to have more penetration on PS5 and we are going to have a very good titles. In addition, we are able to make a good, better promotion and we think we are able to recover.

Speaker 6

Thank you very much. Next question. UBS Securities. CSC, please.

Speaker 12

Thank you very much. Two questions. First, about music. Looking at the market, the streaming market is very strong and you have a lot of hits. I think the top 10 hits are generating a lot of profit. I think you are in a very good position. If there is a negative about your business, I think you might be scared that things are going too well. Is there any possibility of risk in music? The second, about semiconductors, I&SS. You say profitability is 20%, and there was, when you had 30%, when you had a Chinese major client. I'm looking at the utilization rate. I was hoping that it would be higher, including the foreign exchange hedge.

Do you have the power to exceed 20%, please?

Sadahiko Hayakawa (SVP, in charge of Finance and IR)

Thank you very much. Well, about music. Thanks to you and everyone, I think we are doing extremely well. Streaming is very successful. Well, we really don't have that much of a concern, but if there is going to be a change, that would be emerging service. TikTok, these new platforms, how we can try to compete against these newcomers. Meanwhile, different types of music, I think, can be delivered in different channels, so it could be a risk and also it could be an opportunity. What's important is that music, it's very easy to provide music to new technology, and due to technology disruption, it could occur easily. The history tells us this is the case.

We have to capture the trend in the world as soon as possible and quickly, swiftly respond. That's the first answer. About I&SS and the profit ratio, you say that it should be higher or could be higher. Well, I think that we do have the capability to increase profitability, but if we think of the short term, for the time being, we have to increase our capacity of sales, and increasing share is what we're focused on right now. We have to really do what we plan to do for R&D. We, from a competitive point of view, are not trying to reduce R&D budget, but instead, rather than trying to reap the results in short term, we want to win in this market. We want to invest in future solutions.

Therefore, we want to achieve and have good balance between growth and profit in thinking, managing our business mid to long term. I also think that we should try to aim for a margin that is higher than 20%. But as for the timing, it will be influenced by the external situation among others.

Speaker 6

Thank you. I would like to move on to the next question. SMBC Nikko Securities, Katsura-san.

Ryosuke Katsura (Analyst)

Hi. Thank you. My name is Katsura of SMBC Nikko Securities. On I&SS and strategic investment, I have two questions. As for I&SS, as you have already talked about some of the inventory investment and the capital investment, how they are related. If there is any update for your development strategies. For the capital investment, you have raised the amount. That might be because of the Forex and the semiconductor. Has there been any change for the prospects for semiconductor business? As for JPY 900 billion for the next period, what is the peak period? Probably you need a flexible response, because the industry itself is now a bit more restrained.

Including adjustment, if you have any comment for the capital investment. The second is for strategic investment. As for the year-end financial announcement, you talked about more than JPY 1 trillion or JPY 1.06 trillion, and you talked about the semiconductor and what the outlook on the second half prospects. If you have any plans for strategic investment and the Bungie's investment into Bungie, and because of interest rate hike and some of the background such factors, if there is any impairment in the early period. Is it in your judgment or will it impose any change to the macroeconomic policies? As for I&SS and update for the inventory investment and the capital investment.

Hiroki Totoki (President, COO, and CFO)

As for capital investment, as of July, you talked about JPY 350 billion, and that was raised to JPY 353 billion. This is for the investment for the improved productivity. That consists of image sensor, the demand spike for the mobile phones and the shift to higher-end products. The Nagasaki Fab 5 and the extension is one of that moves. That's the capital investment. As for inventory investment. On a year-on-year basis in the second half over 2021 and the second half of 2022, 39% revenue increase and the inventory increase by 33%. I think it is well aligned, and no particular surprises on those figures are as expected.

As for this quarter, we are going to continue our full capacity of production so as to accumulate how the inventories are to be ready for the next fiscal year. There has been no change of our initial planning. By the end of this fiscal year, the inventory level will be raised a bit more. As for strategic investment and what's going on. As for Q2 on the financial announcement, we have already realized the items and including some of the share buyback, and that's about JPY 1.23 trillion. That investment amount is almost aligned with our initial planning as for Bungie. As for impairment, it's not intentional, but that's up to the environmental changes.

As for Bungie itself, if there is any change in the macroeconomic context, there seems to be no change. As for investment, we do not have any particular concerns, including investment onto Bungie. That's it. Thank you.

Speaker 6

Thank you very much. It's time. Therefore, we would like to conclude earnings announcement. Thank you very much for your participation. Thank you.