Sony hikes profit forecast on strong gaming business

TOKYO, Feb 13 (AFP): Japanese entertainment and electronics giant Sony upgraded its annual net profit forecast to $7.0 billion on Thursday thanks to its strong gaming business.
The conglomerate said it now expects a net profit of 1.08 trillion yen in the year ending March 31, compared with an earlier projection of 980 billion yen.
It also lifted its annual sales forecast to 13.2 trillion yen, from an earlier estimate of 12.7 trillion yen.
The change came after Sony saw robust sales of its games, music and financial products in October-December, a key holiday shopping season, with the yen's weakness against the dollar and euro also providing a boost.
Sales reached 4.41 trillion yen in the quarter, up 18 per cent on-year, giving a net profit of 373.7 billion yen, which was an increase of three per cent.
The firm also announced a share buyback worth up to 50 billion yen.