Sony has reported strong results for the second quarter of its financial year, thanks largely to the performance of the PS4.
For the the three months up to the end of September 2014, Sony reported a 136 billion yen (£738 million) loss. This year, it has reported a net profit of £33.6 billion yen (£182 million).
Its operating profits for the period sit at 88 billion yen (£478 million).
Sony has undergone – and continues to undergo – a dramatic restructuring process, which is evidently beginning to see results. However, its return to the black can largely be attributed to PS4 software and its thriving image sensor business.
The PS4 is responsible for 23.9 billion yen (£129 million) of Sony’s operating profits, which represents a growth of 16.5 percent.
Operating profit for the devices segment (which includes those image sensors) was 32.7 billion yen (£177 million), though it’s worth noting that this segment had the benefit of a strengthening dollar against the yen.
Related: Sony confirms Toshiba image sensor acquisition plans
It’s not all rosy for Sony, however. A large part of that aforementioned huge loss in 2014 was down to Sony writing down the value of its struggling smartphone business, and it still isn’t performing well. In fact, Sony’s smartphone business is the only loss-making division in the company at present.
An operating loss of 20.6 billion yen (£112 million) and sales that have decreased 15 percent year-on-year are the main reason Sony’s overall revenue remains flat.
Check out our smartphone buyer’s video guide below:
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
