Sony reports a jump in fiscal third quarter profit on PS4

For the business year through March, Sony maintained its earnings outlook, stating that its ongoing restructuring efforts unpin its projections that it will return to the black for the first time in three years, with an expected group net profit of 140 billion yen. “Demand for image sensors from a specific customer has slowed since November due to a slowdown in the high-end smartphone market”, chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida told reporters at a briefing, without naming the client.

The PlayStation division saw a sales increase of 10.5 percent, bringing in an overall revenue of ¥587.1 billion ($4.89 billion). The stock closed at 2,523 yen on Friday, down around 16pc since the start of the year.

Sony Corp on Friday reported quarterly profit that beat market estimates, as videogame sales and cost cuts in its flagging mobile business offset a fall in sales of the image sensors that had led the company’s turnaround a year prior. The global review spanned Sony Pictures, Sony Electronics, Sony Mobile Communications, Sony Music and Playstation.

Sony has fallen behind Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as well as low-priced Asian rivals in consumer electronics such as smartphones and TVs. But operating income more than doubled to 24 billion yen as Sony cut spending on marketing and development and gave up its pursuit of market share. Overall, Sony made ¥2.58 trillion ($21.5 billion) in revenue, with an operating profit of ¥202.1 billion ($1.69 billion).