Sony Group Corporation has more than 5 billion US Dollars to spend on strategic investments in the year 2023.
During the 2023 Morgan Stanley Technology Media and Entertainment conference for the year 2023, Sony Group Corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, Hiroki Totoki, stated that the company has over 5 billion US Dollars to spend on strategic investments before 2024.
In response to a question regarding an update on the 2 trillion Yen in Sony Group Corporation’s investment budget, Totoki discussed that the company had spent nearly 1.3 trillion Yen by the end of last year. He added that, in 2023, Sony is looking to spend the remaining 700 billion Yen on further strategic investments as planned. This amount roughly translates to a little over 5 billion US Dollars.
In 2021, Sony Group Corporation had announced plans to spend 2 trillion yen (18.39 billion US Dollars) over the next three years on strategic investments, including a push to expand subscribers to its gaming and entertainment services. In 2022, the company had spent over 12 billion US Dollars on investments, including the $3.6 billion buyout of Bungie as well as billions in share buybacks, from its allocated budget, leaving around 5 billion US Dollars left for further purchases. 2023 is the final year in the company’s 3-year investment plan.
Just how much of the remaining 5 billion US Dollars will be spent by Sony Group Corporation towards the expansion of its gaming and entertainment division remains to be seen. Given that it is one of the company’s most profitable businesses, it’s likely that there will be some developer acquisitions made by SIE this year.
Previously, Totoki had revealed that PS5 hardware production had picked up pace since Q2 2022. Positive considerations include the fact that, as of the second quarter, there are less supply-side restrictions on PlayStation 5 hardware manufacturing, which is, in Totoki’s opinion, a significant gain. Moving forward, Sony aims to generate as many units as it possibly can.
