Sony Reports Surprise Profit in First Quarter
July 29 2016 - 3:20AM
Dow Jones News
TOKYO—Sony Corp. reported Friday a net profit of 21.2 billion
yen ($206 million) during the fiscal first quarter due to strong
sales of the PlayStation 4 game console.
The gain for the April-June quarter was a surprise, as analysts
had expected a mean ¥ 33.5 billion loss, according to data provider
Quick, pointing to weak image-sensor sales and a one-time cost from
recent earthquakes in Kumamoto, where Sony has a major sensor
factory.
Sony recorded a ¥ 82.4 billion profit in the same period last
year, when the company booked one-time gains, such as revenue from
selling part of the shares in Olympus Corp. it owned.
Meanwhile, Sony revised the negative impact to its earnings from
the earthquakes in Kumamoto. It now expects a net profit of ¥ 80
billion for the current fiscal year, down from ¥ 115 billion
estimated in May. In the new estimate, there was a ¥ 34.2 billion
negative impact on the first-quarter result, Sony said.
Also dragging on the bottom line was the unit that makes image
sensors, a core component in cameras, including those in Apple
Inc.'s iPhones.
The image-sensor business will remain weak for the first half of
the current fiscal year due to sluggish demand from "a major
customer," Sony said previously. However it expects the business to
regain momentum as it expands sales efforts to China and South
Korea.
Sony's PlayStation business remained solid, emphasizing again
that the business will be a leading force for the company.
Write to Takashi Mochizuki at takashi.mochizuki@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 29, 2016 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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