Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Sony Corp. said Thursday that their net profits more than doubled in the first half, though there was a stark contrast in how the archrivals made their money.
Osaka-based Matsushita, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, was helped by strong sales of flat-screen TVs and other digital products, while Sony was again saved by Spider-Man.
Matsushita's net profit for the April-September period posted a 2.4-fold rise to 56.18 billion yen on revenue of 4.32 trillion yen, up 19 percent.