Sony Corp. said Friday its consolidated sales in the October-December period hit a record quarterly high, helped partly by brisk yearend sales.

The group posted 2.29 trillion yen in sales, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier.

The previous record high quarterly sales figure was 2.13 trillion yen, posted in October-December 2000.

Sony attributed the recent success to vigorous yearend sales, especially in the U.S., of home game machines and audiovisual goods.

It said the yen's weakness against the dollar during the period -- 11.2 percent lower than its level in the same period in 2000 -- also contributed to the sales growth.

The group's operating profit came to 158.61 billion yen, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier.

But consolidated pretax profit fell 12.4 percent to 119.29 billion yen and net profit shrank by 14.4 percent to 64.02 billion yen.

Profits were squeezed by such factors as appraisal losses in securities investments and foreign exchange losses.

With the strong performance in the latest quarter, Sony revised upward its projections for consolidated sales and operating profit slightly from the previous estimates announced in October.

Consolidated sales for fiscal 2001, which ends March 31, are expected to be 7.55 trillion yen, up from the previously estimated 7.50 trillion yen.

Operating profit is estimated to be 130 billion yen, up from the October estimate of 120 billion yen.

The sales and operating profit figures translate respectively into a 3 percent growth and a 42 percent decline from the previous fiscal year.