Sony swings to $1.95 bn net profit as PlayStation sales soar
The Japanese giant has been working to claw back to profitability under a painful restructuring.
TOKYO (AFP) - Sony on Friday posted a nine-month net profit of almost $2.0 billion, as strong sales of its PlayStation video games console and image sensors used in mobile gadgets help it move past years of losses.
The once-iconic Japanese giant has been working to claw back to profitability under a painful restructuring that has included layoffs and asset sales, including its Manhattan headquarters and laptop division.
The company has struggled in the consumer electronics business that built its global brand, including losing billions of dollars in televisions over the past decade as it faced fierce competition from lower-cost rivals from South Korea and Taiwan.
In a sign things are on the upswing, Sony said its net profit came in at 236.1 billion yen ($1.95 billion) for the April-December period, reversing a 19.2 billion yen loss a year earlier.
Operating profit more than doubled to 387.1 billion yen, while sales edged up 0.1 percent to 6.28 trillion yen.
"This was primarily due to the significant increase in sales in the game and network services segment and the impact of foreign exchange rates, substantially offset by the significant decrease in sales in the mobile communications segment," it said.
In November, Sony announced that sales of its PlayStation 4 video game consoles topped 30 million units worldwide.
It has seen the fastest and strongest adoption since the first generation of the video game console was introduced in late 1994.
On Tuesday, Sony said it was moving its PlayStation business to Silicon Valley and consolidating its game console offerings under one roof.
Sony also bought Toshiba’s image sensor business which could boost its position as a global leader in the components which are found in smartphones and other mobile devices.
On Friday, Sony also said it was still on track for a 140 billion yen full-year net profit.
