Sony Corp, the world's second-largest consumer-electronics maker, returned to a fiscal first-quarter profit, aided by a recovery at its electronics business and Spider-Man, the box office hit from its Columbia Pictures.
Group net income at the Tokyo-based company was Japanese yen 57.2 billion (US$492 million), or Y62.23 a share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with a Japanese yen 30.1 billion loss, or Japanese yen 39.26 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Sales rose 5.4 percent to a quarterly record of Japanese yen 1.72 trillion.
PHOTO: AP
Based on the spandex-clad superhero, Spider-Man has generated more than US$675 million at the box office worldwide as of June, becoming the highest-grossing film in Sony's history. The company was also helped by a return to profit at its games division and a rebound at its consumer-electronics business, which accounts for about 70 percent of its sales.
Spider-Man, which had the biggest-ever opening, was the quickest film to generate US$100 million, reaching that mark in just three days. The film was the main contributor to a Japanese yen 9.3 billion operating profit in the first quarter at Sony's movie business, the company said.
The division, which has produced a string of box office winners this year such as Black Hawk Down, Stuart Little 2 and Men in Black II, last fiscal year accounted for about 8 percent of the company's revenue.
Strong sales of game software and DVDs have also helped the maker of the PlayStation2 video-game console cope with slack demand for Sony products such as disk drives, semiconductors and computer monitors.
Sony lowered its full-year sales forecast by 3.8 percent to Japanese yen 7.7 trillion because of concerns about the yen's strength. The company said it expects the dollar to average about Japanese yen 115 this fiscal year, strengthening from the Japanese yen 130 average Sony had predicted for the year when it reported earnings in April.
Sony maintained its full-year net income forecast of Japanese yen 150 billion and kept its full-year operating profit forecast at Japanese yen 280 billion.
Every Japanese yen 1 gain against the dollar reduces its group-level operating profit by Japanese yen 8 billion, Sony has said.
Sony has received a boost from its own brand of digital cameras, camcorders and Vaio personal computers.
The electronics business had a Japanese yen 49.1 billion operating profit in the quarter.
In May, Sony held the top spot in personal computer sales in Japan, according to NikkeiBP.GfK research. Among the best sellers in Japan is the company's Vaio-U, according to market researchers.
The computer, which Sony says is the smallest in the world to operate on Windows XP from Microsoft Corp, is a cross between a hand-held computer and a notebook.
PlayStation2 shipments rose by 250,000 units to 4.59 million in the first quarter. Software shipments for the console rose 74 percent to 27 million.
The games business had a Japanese yen 2.6 billion operating profit in the first quarter. The music business had an operating loss of Japanese yen 10.3 billion in the first quarter.
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