Sony forecasts record profits

TOKYO (AFP) — Sony said Tuesday it expects to book record annual profits as it pushes on with a turnaround driven by the PlayStation games division and a booming smartphone parts business while it also scored a hit with the newest Spider-Man movie.

The once-ailing electronics giant and PlayStation console maker is eyeing a net profit of 380 billion yen ($3.4 billion) for the fiscal year to March 2018, compared to the previous 369.4 billion yen record a decade ago. It also expects operating profit to be a highest-ever 630 billion yen, beating a record set two decades ago.

Net profit for the latest quarter to September was more than 27 times higher than a year earlier, while revenue expanded by 22 percent.

Operating profit jumped more than fourfold in the latest period, partly due to a rebound after deadly quakes in southern Japan hit production last year.