Sony Image Sensor Sales Grow 22% YoY

Sony reports a significant growth of image sensor sales and increases its FY2019 forecast:

• Despite the negative impact of exchange rates, FY19 Q2 sales increased 22% year-on-year to 310.7 billion yen primarily resulting from an increase in unit sales of image sensors for mobile devices and an improvement in product mix.
• Operating income increased 28.5 billion yen to 76.4 billion yen due to the impact of the increase in sales, partially offset by an increase in research and development costs and depreciation expense.
• Both sales and operating income were the highest on record for a quarter in the I&SS segment.
• We revised upward our FY19 sales forecast 50 billion yen to 1 trillion 40 billion yen and our operating income forecast 55 billion yen to 200 billion yen.
• At present, we are maintaining a cautious view in our forecast for sales in the second half of the fiscal year, when demand is usually lower than the first half of the fiscal year. However, we plan to continue to operate at full capacity utilization in order to strategically stockpile inventory to meet demand next fiscal year