Sony Corp.'s group net profit for the first quarter of this fiscal year nosedived 98 percent to 1.1 billion yen from a year earlier, the company said Thursday.
Sony blamed the disappointing outcome on weak demand for TVs and the absence of a followup movie hit since "Spider-Man."
But the company is optimistic about the rest of the year, with the U.S. and European economies expected to pick up through the latter half, according to Sony officials.