Sony Bullish on PlayStation as It Swings to Profit

TOKYO—Sony Corp. swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit from a year-earlier loss on solid sales of its PlayStation 4 videogame console and image sensors, though the company maintained its outlook for the year, which is below market expectations.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Sony swung to a profit of ¥ 33.6 billion ($278.2 million) from a year-earlier loss of ¥ 104.2 billion. In the year-earlier quarter, it wrote down the value of its smartphone business. Sales for the quarter were flat at ¥ 1.89 trillion and operating profit rose to ¥ 88 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected a net profit of ¥ 26.4 billion, ¥ 1.88 trillion in revenue and ¥ 82.2 billion in operating profit. For the year ending in March, the company continues to expect a net profit of ¥ 140 billion.

The results show that Sony's turnaround still has momentum, after years of restructuring in its consumer electronics operations. While Sony's smartphone operations continue to struggle, its entertainment arm has performed steadily—notwithstanding a data breach that roiled its Hollywood studio last year.

Sony's image sensors, used in the cameras in Apple Inc. iPhones and other smartphones, are fueling growth, while its PlayStation 4 videogame console continues to outsell Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox One and Nintendo Co.'s Wii U.

Shares in Sony have jumped 40% since the beginning of the calendar year, far outstripping the benchmark Nikkei average's 8% rise.

Write to Takashi Mochizuki at [e-mail] and Mayumi Negishi at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2015 02:55 ET (06:55 GMT)

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