Sony Sees Double

Sony Corporation announced its first-quarter profits for fiscal 1997 during a news conference Thursday in Tokyo. The company posted a group net profit of 34.8 billion yen (US$295 million) for the first quarter ending June 30, double that of the same period last year, when the company posted earnings of 17.1 billion yen ($144 million).

Sony also revised its profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 1998 to 168 billion yen ($1.42 billion) from its previous prediction of 160 billion yen ($1.35 billion).

Masayoshi Morimoto, Sony's senior vice president, told the news conference that due to the weak yen, the company's group operating profit rose by 20 billion yen ($169 million) in the first quarter. "We have seen strong results both in the domestic and overseas markets thanks to robust sales of most of our products in the area of electronics,'' Morimoto said.

Sony's entertainment ventures have also performed well, rising by more than 24 percent over the same period last year. The company's film studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and its record label, Sony Music Entertainment, contributed to the entertainment revenues.

In the US, Sony's group sales and operating revenue topped the list by region, growing 36.5 percent from last year to 435.89 billion yen ($3.69 billion).