Playstation, TVs boost Sony to $294 million profit (AP)

Sony bounced back to profit last quarter and raised its full-year earnings forecast, fueled by stronger demand for its PlayStation 3 gaming consoles, personal computers and televisions.

Japanese electronics giant Sony on Thursday announced a profit of 25.7 billion yen (293 million dollars) for the fiscal first quarter, compared with a 37.1 billion yen loss a year ago.The maker of Bravia televisions, PlayStation game consoles and Cyber-shot cameras upwardly revised its annual profit forecast by 20 percent to 60 billion yen in the year ending March 2011.

Japanese electronics giant Sony on Thursday said it returned to the black in the fiscal first quarter thanks to strong sales in televisions, its PlayStation 3 console and computers.The maker of Bravia televisions and Cyber-shot cameras also upwardly revised its annual profit forecast by 20 percent to 60 billion yen in the year ending March 2011 despite worries over the yen's strength.In the April-June quarter Sony reported a profit of 25.7 billion yen (293 million dollars) compared with a 37.1 billion yen loss a year ago.

Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. Thursday announced a third-quarter net profit of 870 million dollars, a result it said "significantly exceeded expectations".The maker of PlayStation game consoles, Bravia televisions and Cyber-shot cameras is still emerging from the global economic slump but narrowed its full-year loss forecast to 70 billion yen from 95 billion yen."We did well across the board during the year-end shopping season," said Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer. "It significantly exceeded expectations."

Sony Corp is warning PlayStation 3 owners not to use their video game consoles until it fixes a problem that could affect 23 million of its PlayStation Network users.

Sony Corp. swung back to an operating profit of 32 billion yen (345 million dollars) in the fiscal year ended in March, the company said on Monday as it revised a forecast it had made in February.The electronics giant will announce its full earnings report Thursday.The maker of Bravia televisions, PlayStation game consoles and Cyber-shot cameras still plans to report a net loss of 41 billion yen for fiscal 2009, although less severe than an earlier forecast for a 70 billion yen net loss.But its operating profits look healthier than earlier thought, it said.

Japanese electronics giant Sony on Thursday announced an annual loss of 40.8 billion yen (440 million dollars), narrowing from a loss of 98.9 billion yen the previous year.The maker of Bravia televisions, PlayStation game consoles and Cyber-shot cameras forecast a profit of 50 billion yen in the year ending March 2011 as it looks to aggressively launch 3D televisions and related products.For the financial year just ended, the company reported an operating profit of 31.8 billion yen compared to a loss of 227.8 billion yen in the previous year, which was its biggest ever.

Japanese electronics giant Sony on Thursday said it returned to the black in the fiscal first quarter thanks to strong sales in televisions, its PlayStation 3 console and computers.The maker of Bravia televisions and Cyber-shot cameras reported a profit of 25.7 billion yen (293 million dollars) compared with a 37.1 billion yen loss a year ago.Under chief executive and president Howard Stringer, the Japanese company has been streamlining operations and cutting costs to trim back the sprawling group, which was battered by the global downturn.