Japan's Sony annual profits hit record highs for second year

TOKYO–Japan's Sony said Friday its annual profits had climbed to record highs for the second consecutive year thanks to a robust performance of its games and other entertainment business.

The electronics giant reported net profit soaring 86.7 percent year-on-year to 916.3 billion yen ($8.2 billion) in the year ended in March while operating profit rose 21.7 percent to 894.2 billion yen.

Sales edged up 1.4 percent to 8.7 trillion yen. The growth was driven by higher profits in games and network businesses, including an online service that allows users to enjoy music and video titles via their PlayStation accounts.

EMI Music Publishing also contributed to pushing profits up. For the current fiscal year to March 2020, however, Sony said it was bracing for lower profits in the absence of one-time benefits such as gains from making EMI Music a fully owned subsidiary.

It forecast net profit to drop 45 percent to 500 billion yen with operating profit sagging nine percent to 810 billion yen. Sales however were forecast to grow 1.5 percent to 8.8 trillion yen. ---