Sony sees first-half net profit drop but lifts full-year forecast

Japan's Sony said Wednesday half-year net profit fell nearly 15 per cent, but it upgraded its annual forecast on solid growth in its image-sensor and music sectors.

The PlayStation manufacturer said net profit dropped 14.9 percent to 340 billion yen (USD 3.12 billion) for April-September, and tipped annual net profits of 540 billion yen, compared with an earlier 500 billion yen forecast.

The company said it saw sales jump in the image-sensor sector, thanks to a growth in demand due to mobile phones.

"We think the demand will continue to grow also for the next fiscal year with the increase of smart phones with multiple lenses and large-sized sensors," CFO Hiroki Totoki said.

Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo, also said before the results were announced that "demand for image sensors is expected to grow further" due to the reasons Totoki explained.

"Sales of image sensors remain strong," Yasuda told AFP.

Sony currently operates four image sensor plants in Japan and is looking to increase production capacity by March 2021.

"In order to respond to the demand after March 2021, we decided to invest in steps into the construction of a new plant in Nagasaki" in southern Japan, Totoki said.

Last week, the CEO of US hedge fund Third Point, which holds a key stake in the Japanese conglomerate, reportedly expressed frustration at its rejection of a proposal to spin off its semiconductor operations including image sensors.

Sales for Sony's music business also rose, the firm said Wednesday, helped by its integration of EMI Music Publishing and an increase in streaming revenues.

"The streaming business is enjoying high sales growth," the CFO said, adding sales for the movie sector were brisk.

"'Spider-Man: Far From Home,' which became Sony's record smash hit movie by earning more than 1.1 billion dollars at the international box office, contributed to the movie sales."