Sony Corp., considering Daniel Loeb's push for a partial sale of its entertainment assets, said Thursday it posted first-quarter earnings that beat estimates after cutting costs, introducing new smartphones and benefiting from a weaker yen.
Net income totaled ¥3.48 billion in the three months that ended June 30, compared with a loss of ¥24.6 billion a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said. Profit was expected to be ¥2.6 billion, according to the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Sony raised its full-year revenue forecast 5.3 percent on the weaker yen while cutting expected sales of TVs and digital cameras as it considers Loeb's plan for an initial public offering of the entertainment units. Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is preparing to release the PlayStation 4 this year to drive game earnings as it loses ground to Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.