Sony shares rose on Thursday following a newspaper report that the Japanese electronics giant is set to beat its own profit forecast thanks to strong sales of flat-panel televisions.
Sony could exceed its operating profit forecast of ¥100-billion ($844-million) by 10 to 20% in the year to March, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said, without naming its sources.
The target was already upgraded in January from a loss of ¥20-billion but could now even beat the profit of ¥113,9-billion made in the previous fiscal year, the business daily said.
The better-than-expected performance is said to be the result of brisk sales of flat-panel television sets in the final quarter of the fiscal year.
Another contributor was a robust performance by its financial operations, helped by the recent advance of the stock market, the paper said.
Sony declined to comment on the report, saying it would announce full-year results on April 27.
The price of Sony shares gained ¥110 or 2,02% to ¥5 540 by lunch on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, bucking a weaker overall market.
The paper said Sony’s sales were also estimated to have exceeded the earlier projected ¥7,4-trillion yen by ¥30-50-billion thanks to robust United States and European sales of its Bravia televisions with liquid crystal displays.
Sony, which is in the midst of painful restructuring to reverse a slump in its fortunes, has been shifting its focus from cathode-ray tube TVs to flat-panel TVs, where it faces fierce competition from rivals.
In January the electronics maker posted record profit and sales in the third quarter to December thanks to an improvement at its core consumer electronics sector, declaring it no longer expected to end the year in the red.
The group said then it expected a net profit of ¥70-billion for the full-year year to March, instead of a loss of ¥10-billion previously. – AFP