Sony books $2 billion group net profit in April-December

Sony Corp. reported on Friday a group net profit of 236.13 billion yen ($1.96 billion) for the April-December period, owing to solid sales from its gaming sector offsetting the electronic maker's losses in other ares.

The consumer electronics giant as well as reversing its 19.19 billion yen losses logged a year earlier, also said its operating profit in the third quarter leapt to more than double, surging 132.7 percent to 387.07 billion yen, on sales of 6.28 trillion yen, a rise of 0.1 percent, Xinhua reported.

The Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo said that in part brisk sales of its PlayStation 4 games helped compensate for a downturn in sales of its image sensors, a key sector responsible for the bluechip's turnaround a year earlier.

For the business year through March, Sony maintained its earnings outlook, stating that its ongoing restructuring efforts unpin its projections that it will return to the black for the first time in three years, with an expected group net profit of 140 billion yen.

The company also expects its operating profit to hit 320 billion yen based on projected sales to the tune of 7.9 trillion yen.