Sony Corp. shares soared Thursday after the company raised its fiscal-year operating profit outlook by 13% the previous day, with a surge in demand for video games from home-bound consumers.
The forecast of ¥700 billion ($6.7 billion), up from a previous ¥620 billion, surpassed the average analyst expectation of ¥658.9 billion and precedes the highly anticipated November debut of the PlayStation 5 (PS5). Sony’s stock climbed as much as 5.8% in Tokyo, the biggest intraday gain since March.
The firm aims to sell more than 7.6 million PS5 units by the end of March, more than its predecessor, the PlayStation 4 (PS4), managed in its first fiscal year, Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki said.