Sony's operating profit is expected to double in the year to March 2003 as restructuring winds down, PlayStation 2 investments pay off and a weak yen aids overseas earnings, the Nihon Keizai Shimbunnewspaper said today.
The business daily said, without citing sources, Sony's consolidated operating profit would likely bounce back to about $2 billion, the highest level in four years and more than double the company's own forecast for the current fiscal year through March.
A Sony spokesman dismissed the numbers as speculation, however, and said the company would disclose its 2002/03 forecasts when it reports 2001/02 results in late April. "We have not disclosed anything on the next fiscal year," he said.
The report, in stark contrast to a series of grim profit news in recent months from other Japanese electronics makers, helped boost Sony's shares to their highest in more than a month.
In mid-morning trade, Sony was up 3.48 per cent at 6,250 yen and the most-actively traded issue on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in terms of turnover.
Sony's shares have risen nearly 60 per cent from lows last autumn in the wake of the September 11th attacks. It has seen strong sales of Sony brand goods and the PlayStation 2 game console in the pre-Christmas season despite concerns the attacks would dampen consumer sentiment.