Japan's Sony Corp scored a record net profit in the last quarter as its PlayStation 2 trounced the competition and movies like "Spider-Man" sprang back to life in DVDs, but the electronics giant warned of uncertainty ahead.
Sony, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, also weathered what some feared would be a bleak Christmas season with brisk sales of digital cameras and flat-panel TVs, even as mainstay items like PCs and DVD players floundered.
The Tokyo-based company said consolidated net profit surged to a record 125.43 billion yen (€1.06 billion) in the key fiscal third quarter ended December 31, which usually brings the bulk of full-year profits as consumers splurge on year-end gifts.
The figure was nearly double the year-earlier period. But Sony cautiously kept its targets for the full year to March unchanged from prior forecasts, eyeing a net profit of 180 billion yen, more than 10 times the year-ago level, and a doubling of operating profit to 280 billion yen.