Sony upgrades net profit forecast on strong Q1 performance

The Sony Group upgraded its full-year net profit forecast from its earlier estimate of 660 billion yen to 700 billion yen or $6.4 billion on the back of strong second-quarter performance that offset a first-quarter profit decline.

For the three months to June, Sony's net profit surged 9.4 percent to 211.8 billion yen. Its annual sales forecast remained at 9.7 trillion yen after first-quarter sales jumped 15.0 percent to 2.26 trillion yen.

The Japanese conglomerate attributed its solid second-quarter earnings to its music and consumer electronics businesses.

Sales of digital cameras and music-streaming businesses surpassed expectations, according to Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo.

The anime "Demon Slayer", distributed by Sony's animation unit Aniplex, was a box-office triumph that also boosted Sony's quarterly results.

However, the boom enjoyed by the gaming sector during the pandemic is slowing as the vaccines are bringing life back to normalcy.

Yasuda noted that the result showed the advantage of a conglomerate with the stronger sectors offsetting weaker ones.