Sony reports best-ever Q3 profit, forecasts new annual record

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp on Friday reported a nearly four-fold jump in third-quarter operating profit on growing demand for its image sensors, and raised its full-year earnings outlook.

The electronics firm posted an operating profit of 350.8 billion yen ($3.20 billion) for the October-December quarter, up from 92.4 billion yen a year ago. That was Sony's highest third-quarter profit ever and far above a consensus estimate of 240.8 billion yen from 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sony raised its profit forecast for the year ending March to 720 billion yen from 630 billion yen, its best ever in its 72-year-old history.

 

That compared with a consensus estimate of 680.93 billion yen from 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Earlier in the day, Sony said that CEO Kazuo Hirai would be replaced by CFO Kenichiro Yoshida, effective April 1.

($1 = 109.7000 yen)

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar)