Sony said this morning its net profit for the past business year would come in 60 per cent higher than expected amid foreign exchange and tax-related gains.
The entertainment and electronics conglomerate said it would also benefit from improved earnings at its movie and financial divisions, although some of the gains would be offset by its decision to bring forward restructuring charges to 2003/04.
Sony said it saw net profit at 88 billion yen ($811 million) for the business year ended March 31st, surpassing the company's earlier forecast and a consensus estimate of 55 billion yen from 22 analysts polled by Reuters Research.
That would mark a 24 per cent decline from a year ago.
After the announcement, Sony shares rose to 4,655 yen in London trade, up 2.1 per cent from Tokyo's close of 4,560 yen.