Sam Nussey

TOKYO (Reuters) - Operating profit will rise 0.3% to 12.8 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) in the fiscal year ending March, Sony said on Wednesday that after U.S. President Donald Trump's 100 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March.

Sony said the estimated tariff impact is not reflected in the trade agreement between the United States and China, and the actual impact may vary greatly.

Sony's stock eliminated losses and closed at 3.7% after the results were announced. The company said it would buy back up to 100 million shares at a price of about 250 billion yen.

Japanese conglomerates have transformed from manufacturers of home electronics such as Walkman to entertainment behemoths covering games, movies, music and chips.

Last month, President Hiroki Totoki strengthened his control over the conglomerate to serve as CEO.

He stressed that he continued to focus on entertainment, and Sony is preparing for some of the spin-offs in the finance department.

The derivatives will give Sony less than 20% of its listed companies in Tokyo on September 29.

"We have seen resilience in the entertainment business during the economic downturn, such as during the 19th pandemic," Totoki said in the earnings briefing.

Sony sold 2.8 million PlayStation 5 (PS5) units in the January-March quarter, down 38% from the same period last year.

During the same period, operating profits of game units fell by 12.5%.

Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao said sales are consistent with expectations after the year-end shopping season.

Sony raised its PS5 price in Europe and the UK last month, citing higher inflation and exchange rate volatility.

The company has been stocking up in the U.S. and diversifying hardware production.

Sony expects profits in the gaming business to grow 16% this year due to higher sales of first-party games.

Lin said the company is looking for sales of 15 million PS5 units this year, but stressed that there is a lot of uncertainty and Sony wants to take a flexible approach to goods.

Following the successful success of "Tsushima's Ghost", "Yotei's Ghost of Yotei" will be launched in October, with the company selling 13 million units on PlayStation and PC.

Industry observers expect Grand Theft VI will boost the console business, but Take-Two Interactive said it postponed the game's release to May 2026 this month.

Nintendo said last week that it expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 units on June 5.

Sony's operating profit, including financial services, rose 16% to 1.4 trillion yen in the year to March.