Sony’s net profit more than triples in second quarter
Its net profit rose to 82.4bn yen ($664m; £425m) while operating profit also rose 39% – well above expectations – to 96.8bn yen.
But sales were flat in the period from a year ago, down 0.1% to 1.8tn yen.
A weaker yen offset lower sales of its smartphones and televisions, it said.
Sales in Sony’s game and network services division, however, jumped more than 12% on PS4 software sales.
The PS4 video game console is outselling competitor Microsoft’s Xbox One and Nintendo’s Wii U.
The results also reflected 4.7bn yen of insurance recoveries “related to losses incurred from the cyber-attack on Sony’s network services including the PlayStation Network” in the 2011-12 financial year, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The earnings results come after Sony announced its first capital raising in a quarter of a century last month.
The funds would be used to increase production of image sensors, which helped boost its earnings in the quarter, as it pulls back from smartphones and televisions on stiff competition from cheaper Asian rivals.
The company has also been undergoing significant restructuring plans that have resulted in asset sales and job cuts.
In February, Sony said it would spin off its video and audio business into a separate company as part of a three-year turnaround plan.
It expects to return to profit in the 2015-16 financial year for the first time in three years.
[SOURCE- “bbc.com”]