Call a mall cop, Sony Pictures’ operating income plummets 43%

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The phrase ‘sales decreased’ must be a save-get key on the computers in the investor relations division at Sony Corp. because those words appear so often in the company’s earnings statements when describing the performance of its movie and TV studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The latest report is no exception, with Sony Pictures’ operating income falling 43% to $305 million for the fiscal year ended March 31. Although superheroes ‘Hancock’ and ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’ helped boost Sony’s theatrical revenues, those performances were not strong enough to offset the pain inflicted by the vanishing DVD market and a weak economy. Of course, the company’s film and television operations are hardly the biggest underperformers at the Japanese electronics conglomerate -- which posted a net loss of $1 billion for the fiscal year -- but it’s not helping a whole lot, either.

With the exception of its second-quarter 2008 results (which was the summer of ‘Hancock,’ ‘Step Brothers’ and ‘Pineapple Express’), Sony Pictures Entertainment has endured several rough quarters. Much of this can be attributed to the decline of the DVD market, but perhaps the feast-or-famine strategy of relying on expensive franchise films (‘Spider-Man,’ the James Bond movies and anything starring Will Smith) to carry the day needs to be adjusted. Through May 10 of this year, Sony is in fourth place with a 10.5% share of the U.S. box office with total grosses of $364.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Besides the drops in DVD sales, Sony Pictures Entertainment also took a hit of $50 million in restructuring charges for the year, which is tied to the studio’s move to cut about 300 jobs, or 4% of its workforce.

-- Joe Flint