Sony has posted better than predicted Q1 profits, boosted by strong Sony Xperia smartphone sales and weakened yen.
For the quarter running from April to June, the Japanese electronics manufacturer posted a net profit of 3.5 billion yen (£23 million), helped by a 36 per cent rise in mobile product sales from the same period the previous year.
The average selling price of the smartphones and tablets has also increased which helped to boost profits.
Since the beginning of the year, Sony has released several new mobile devices including its flagship Sony Xperia Z, Sony Xperia Tablet Z and the newly unveiled “phablet” Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
Sony Pictures Division reversed last year’s loss with a 3.7 billion yen profit (£24.8 million), and the Sony TV profits were at 5.2 billion yen (£34.7 million) meaning the company for this section made a profit for the first time in 12 quarters.
Choosing not to reveal its sales predictions for its next-generation console, Sony did reveal an operating loss for its Games division due to an increase in R&D for the PS4.
Software sales for the PS3 and PS Vita increased compared to the same quarter last year, but hardware sales for the PSP, PS2 and PS3 were all down. Probably in light of the PS4 release this “holidays 2013” period.
Overall the Japanese electronics company raised it sales forecast for the financial year in light of this quarter’s successes. Its projection from May was for 7.5 trillion yen (£50.2 billion), but this now has been raised to 7.9 trillion yen (£52.7 billion) for the year.
Next, read our pick of the best PS4 games.
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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.
