Sony Corp, Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics, raised its full-year profit forecast 17 per cent, citing improved earnings at its games and personal computer businesses.
Net income in the year ending March 31 will be ¥70 billion ($868 million), compared with a previous projection of ¥60 billion, Sony said in a statement today. The company cut its full-year sales forecast to ¥7.4 trillion from ¥7.6 trillion, citing the stronger Japanese currency.
Computer sales rose and the cost of building PlayStation 3 game consoles fell, helping Sony deliver second-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates. Still, the maker of Bravia TVs said it’s cautious in its outlook for the main electronics business because of a deteriorating TV market in North America, echoing concerns voiced by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co.
“It looks like everything other than TVs did surprisingly well, but television inventories are a worry,” said Hidehiro Tomioka, who helps manage $1.4 billion in Tokyo at MFC Global Investment Management (Japan) Ltd. “It’s hard to tell where growth will come from in the future. They’ve got Samsung to contend with, and the yen as well.”
Sony fell 1.4 per cent to ¥2,690 at the 3 pm close in Tokyo trading before the announcement. The company has gained 0.8 per cent this year, compared with a 13 per cent drop for Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, a 6.8 percent decline for Samsung and an 18 per cent slump for LG Electronics Inc in Seoul.